


Kurt Hummel and the Confusion of Warblers

by ArmyOfElves



Series: Get Back to Hogwarts 'Verse [1]
Category: Glee, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Crossover, Friendship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2016-01-25
Packaged: 2018-02-08 19:26:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 53,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1953228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArmyOfElves/pseuds/ArmyOfElves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For years Kurt Hummel knew there was something different about himself but could never identify what. It all comes in to place when he's twelve and is told that he's a wizard. Everything he thought he knew is turned upside down. He pursues his magical education in secret, and for years his own father doesn't even know. Then one crazy week full of ups, downs, secrets and spying leads him to the world's most infamous magical institution. There, he befriends a band of Hogwarts wizards who change his life forever.</p><p>*Glee/Harry Potter crossover</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Power Outage

_Prologue_

If one traveled a few miles outside of Cleveland, Ohio they would find acres upon acres of rolling fields and small farms. In the very center is a very large rundown building, the headquarters for some mysterious company, sitting alone without so much as a gas station within twenty miles.

For those who aren't in on the secret, if they were to step so much as a few hundred yards near it they would find themselves late for a very important appointment, or they suddenly couldn't think of anything they'd rather do more than stay as far away as possible.

As for the big business corporations and oil industry bosses who covet the land, the plans to monopolize it never make it further than the contractor who comes out to look at it.

The farmers and small families that own the land surrounding the place leave it be. They leave it alone because it leaves them alone. There are no obnoxious business agents or specialized salesmen bothering them every other week with a new scheme to take their property. These simple people aren't so foolish to think it's out of respect or goodness of heart; it's something to do with the lone building. Nobody questions it. The only people who ever really speak of it are the mischievous locales, who jokingly spin tales of witchcraft.

They're not totally wrong.

While the place is like a very large magnet that repels those of the wrong kind of origin, it is an asset to those of a more secret nature.

If the right people were to come around, they would walk across the lot and into the building, where an average waiting room complete with an unlikable receptionist is. They would then pass the front desk and go to the atrium on the left. Down below this average company is a secret city full of shops and venders, banks, and anything you would expect to see in any given city. The only difference is the magic in the air. Literally, it is a city built by wizards and witches.

This is why the non magical folk never see anybody ever entering the building that conceals the secret city. Fully grown Witches and Wizards don't have much need for mundane things such as doors and cars. They have long since replaced the typical muggle ways of transportation with magical means of travel, such as the floo network, apparation, and even the occasional flying carpet. Very few ever actually use the front door.

A hop, skip, and a jump to the left you would find the Ministry of Magic - or rather one of its subdivisions. There are several others like it around the country, in places like New York and Seattle, and then there is a main office where the big meetings are held and legislature gets passed. That is located directly below the Pentagon.

Inside the Ministry is yet another elevator. You take that one as far down as it will take you. There it stops in front of a long narrow corridor. At the end of it and to the right is a very small room containing only two occupants.

The first, a man well into his fifties who has sat down there for a good part of his adult life, intently watching the screen before him. He is the department head. On the other side of the room resides a petite young woman at a makeshift desk. Together they make up the Department for the Improper Use of Magic.

This particular department is in charge of investigating the Midwestern United States for offences under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Confederation of Wizards Statute of Secrecy. It is also where Animagus registration is posted (though unbeknownst to the department that duty will later be divided into a its own separate division).

The department staff monitor a large screen all day waiting for the red lights to flash, indicating illegal or irresponsible activity. At this time a note is sent to the offender detailing actions to be taken by the Office, and if need be, another is sent to a special squad to be dispatched to the location. That is the extent of their excitement.

The Improper Use of Magic Office only deals with offences that are more regulatory than criminal, as the latter would be dealt with by Hit Wizards or the Auror Office.

The department is rather small and unglamorous as it is a small cog on a very large machine. Much of the time the cog lays dormant, though a very important one it is when needed. Without little offices as them the Magical world would loose the secrecy it fights so hard to protect.

As happy as it would make the Department for the Improper Use of Magic to be further complimented and recognized, they are only but a page in this tale.

* * *

_Chapter 1_

_2002:_

_(Outside of Cleveland, Ohio; American Ministry of Magic - Subdivision C - Office: Department for the Improper Use of Magic)_

"Whoa! Antonia get your ass over here now!" The Department head exclaimed, dropping his newspaper in fright.

A small young woman's head shot up out of her arms.

"What is it Benson?" She asked wearily.

"There was just a massive wave of magic that set the system off."

Toni's attention immediately snapped toward her co-worker. She whipped a notebook out of her pocket and flipped it open. Her hand hovered over the blank page ready to scrawl an address down.

Benson slapped his hand down on top of the monitor repeatedly. "These shitty instruments aren't picking up like they should!" Each word punctuated by a fist slamming against the machinery. "Stupid Magical Maintenance was screwing around in here last night. Must've messed something up." Benson grunted.

You jumped up and walked over to the instrument that resembled a muggle computer (it had once been, before it was charmed for the Ministry's purposes).

Toni groaned. "For God's sake, we're the God damn Ministry of Magic! How are we supposed to keep an eye on these things if everything's broken?"

"Calm down lassie," Said girl gave him an incredulous look as she watched him work on the equipment like a caveman.

Toni let out a long drawn out sigh. This was going to turn out bad. She composed her face into her 'professional' expression and spun around in her chair. "Before it went off the radar, where was it?"

"I dunno the exact location-"

"What was the general location?"

"In the Lima, Ohio area."

Toni swiftly jotted the place down.

"Well, I guess I'll just file it away for now." She sighed. "But we're screwed if we don't figure it out and _they_ hear about this."

Slip ups while doing a job for the Ministry could not only get you fired without recommendations, but possibly tried for various crimes, such as treason or tampering with evidence.

"It was likely nothing anyway."

Toni flipped the notepad closed and set it back in a desk drawer. "You didn't seem to think so when you were jumping and hollering." She answered flippantly.

"I was frightened. Now I got a clear head, I think it was prob'ly just some kids messin' around. Their parents'll chastise 'em."

Toni looked up from her desk. _Is he serious?_ "You full well know that the closest wizards to Lima are in Westerville."

"Whatever." He waved his hand. The annoyed woman brushed past Benson on her way out to go speak with Magical Maintenance.

Benson called after her, "Make sure that you do file that town under a watch."

"Will do." She called back. "Keep an eye on the news, yeah?"

"You'd think she was my superior the way she talks to me." Benson muttered. He pulled his coat around himself tighter and picked his newspaper up, continuing where he left off.

* * *

_(Lima, Ohio - Hummel Residence)_

"Damn." Burt Hummel muttered. "The whole power box is shot."

Burt stuck his screwdriver between his teeth and shined the flashlight over the smoking electrical transformer. A crash of thunder sounded outside making the man start.

"Flash flood, and on Lizzie's funeral too." He sniffled.

Burt took a moment to close his eyes and let the feelings wash away with the rain. Once he was a little more composed he wiped his nose on the back of his shirt sleeve then got back to work.

Burt's only child shrank back against the darkened staircase and tiptoed up. At the top he turned left where he went into his room and quietly closed the door. Once in his safe place he silently sobbed.

Kurt hadn't meant to do anything.

Then again, he never meant to do those things. The only difference now was that he didn't have a mother to tell him so, or tuck him in with a story after some strange occurrence. Now Elizabeth was six feet under in a beautiful cherry wood coffin. Only hours before Kurt had kissed her cheek before they closed the casket, and then stood mere feet away as they lowered her into the ground. When he and Burt had arrived home minutes ago was when the power suddenly went out. Burt was under the impression that it was a short-circuit, but it wasn't, and Kurt knew that. He knew that _he_ somehow made it happen.

Usually when it happened it was because he was angry about something, or upset when another kid messed with him at the park. He didn't expect his weirdness to lash out today. The only thing he felt all day was numb. It was on the car ride back home when it hit him that this was it. An overpowering feeling of sadness and despair had crashed over his tiny body. He felt dark. Then he was literally surrounded by it. The only light in the house came from Burt's flashlight and the tiny candle glowing in Kurt's windowsill. An eerie wind rushed through the house and the little flame flickered and died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Department for the Improper Use of Magic, doesn't seem too legit. All the better for Kurt and the Warblers to break rules...
> 
> A/N: I've basically lined up the HP/Glee timelines. So if say Kurt were to meet Harry's children now, they'd be very young and the Golden Trio would be adults. Basically, I used my extreme canon-OCD and made this story as canon as I can make an AU with the limited information on the two fandoms I have.


	2. Concerning Wizards

The day of Elizabeth's funeral would always remain the darkest day of the Hummel household, but things did eventually get better. Kurt and Burt began to truly rely on one another and looked to each other for comfort when things were down, while also enjoying the little things together. They found a new normal and became closer than ever.

So when things began to get _weird_ Burt was at an utter loss.

When Elizabeth was still with them, odd occurrences happened on occasion but were generally forgotten or written off. Now they were alone and Burt had to find an explanation for himself, though this was quickly forgotten again. Once Kurt made it past elementary school, a lot of things were driven from Burt's mind when he was presented with another mystery: The many, many bruises that covered his boy's body.

In the past Kurt would always go straight to Burt when another kid called him a name or pushed him around. Burt would then try to solve the problem directly or they could go to a different playground. In middle school Kurt knew what they did to kids who 'tattled' and the teachers didn't do much anyway, so he learned to lie and said that he fell down or was playing rough. Burt was always suspicious of the answer, but he didn't push him.

Luckily for Kurt his 'weirdness' didn't often lash out, so no one ever learned his secret. Kurt obviously knew there was something different about himself, but it was difficult to explain these things to his seemingly oblivious father. He did try on several different occasions. They usually ended in his father nodding and then awkwardly patting Kurt on the back with an, "I know buddy". Kurt left every time very confused and frustrated.

One day when Kurt was twelve he finally had to come clean about the bullying. The school called Burt telling him that Kurt was being taken to the hospital after his arm was broken. They eventually got an admission that it was Azimio Adams. When he got back home in a new cast he begged his dad to homeschool him. They had discussed the possibility of this a few times before, but with the garage and being a single dad they simply didn't have the time or money. This time faced with a broken, tearful Kurt Burt couldn't say no.

It was a struggle in the beginning. Burt had to cut back on hours at the shop in order to watch over his sons assignments. It took a month for him to trust Kurt enough to leave him alone to study. Before then he was taking Kurt to the shop until his shift was through and the evenings were spent hitting the books together.

Relief, though unknown at the time, came in the form of a fancy letter one morning. Burt opened the envelope assuming it was another college, sending out pamphlets about preparing your child for their future education. In a way it was. It claimed to be some sort of scholarship program that his son had been chosen for. It was quite vague and the only information it really gave was a date that a representative from the school would be visiting their home. He didn't have time to consider that the letter hadn't offered a website or requested a credit card number or donation. Burt thought it a hoax and tossed it right in the trash. Later Kurt would curiously fish it out of the garbage. So for a week, only Kurt was anxiously awaiting  _anyone's_ arrival.

The Hummel's lives would be forever changed when precisely a week later an official looking woman showed up at the doorstep. She was a petite woman who, although her stature, was intimidating. She had dark eyes and mousy brown hair that was tied up. Her clothes were decidedly her most interesting feature, while neat and complementary they were quite colorful. She gave off an air of resolute quirkiness.

She certainly my wasn't what Burt Hummel was expecting when he opened his door that bright Monday afternoon.

"Hello Mr. Hummel. My name is Antonia Wellington." She said holding out a hand for Burt to shake.

"Um, h-hello Miss-" He sputtered, quite taken aback by her sudden appearance. Before he could recover Antonia Wellington was pushing her way inside. Burt was so shocked that he opened the door wider to allow her entrance.

"I am here on official business." She stated formally.

Burt was at a loss. "What company did you say you worked for?" He asked as they made their way into the living room.

"I didn't." She smiled. "I am with the esteemed Academy for Gifted Young Students, or eafgy-sss. It is a subdivision of the Academy of Rowena's - the New England estate of course - programme for America's best and brightest. Or so our letter says." She winked.

"Letter?"

"Yes, the one we sent out last week informing you of my arrival. The letter written on parchment... I believe the envelope was blue, a seal on the front?"

"Oh, that one. I assumed it was fake. I think I threw it out."

"Understandable, with so many scams happening in this day. It's a good thing our programs are so well known." The woman paused her inspection of their mantle to look at Burt expectantly. "I expect you _have_ heard of our programs prior."

"Can't say I have."

Antonia Wellington gave him a brief smile. She began walking the perimeter of the living room, throwing glances toward the stairs often. More than once she looked right to the place under the banister where Kurt was hiding and listening in, somewhere she shouldn't have been able to see him.

"That's perfectly fine. I'll just have to fill you in on some of the finer details." She cast one last glance at the spot then returned to Burt. "To get straight to the point, we are interested in your son Kurt."

"Oh?"

"Some of his records were submitted to us. His grades are excellent and he certainly shows promise in several fields."

"So what does he have to go through an admission process to apply? And how much will this cost." Burt pulled his cap off, rubbed his bald head, and placed the cap back on. It was a nervous habit of his.

"This is basically a scholarship program. So the school expenses will be paid for by a private fund."

"Um, sorry, is this like, a boarding school?"

"Don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions, I know this may not be very orthodox. May I?" She gestured toward the couch, exhibiting social etiquette for the first time.

"Yeah." Burt took the seat across from her.

"It is not a boarding school. If you were to accept this offer, Kurt would be given a tutor that he would see on a regular basis."

Uncharacteristically, suspicion that this was some sort of scam never crossed Burt Hummel's mind as the woman went on to further explain.

"Would it be alright for me to speak with Kurt?" She was soon asking.

Burt hesitated. "I think he went to the park while ago."

Antonia glanced at the stairs as she spoke, "Oh, I think he might be closer than you think." Her tone made it clear that she intended for him to call for Kurt.

Being the shared owner of a business Burt Hummel didn't usually take directions from anyone, let alone pushy little girls, but something about this woman made it difficult to say no.

"Kurt! Kurt could you come down here for a minute!"

Feet away, Kurt cautiously stood up from his hiding place befor under the banister and pretended to walk out of his room. His feet deliberately smacking the carpet noisily.

"Oh hello dad! What was it that you needed me for?" He asked unconvincingly.

"Uh huh. Come down here a minute."

Kurt took note of the foreign woman sitting on his couch as he descended the stairs and walked over to his father.

"Kurt this is Miss Wellington from some school that's apparently interested in you. She wants to talk to you."

Kurt slowly raised a shaking hand toward her. "Pleased to meet you."

Antonia took it with a warm smile. "Hello Kurt."

"Um I guess I'll make some tea." Burt left them. Kurt frowned at his father's strange behavior and sudden fondness for tea of all things.

"As you probably heard, I'm from a special school."

"Yeah."

Kurt didn't seem even remotely interested, so she tried another approach.

"How old are you Kurt?"

"I'm twelve. How old are you?"

The corners of her lips twitched. "My name is Antonia Wellington, but you can call me Toni. I'm here because we're interested in you Kurt. You're a very special kid." She carefully chose her words, aware of the muggle in the next room.

This seemed to catch his attention and for the first time he looked nervous. Kurt glanced in the direction of the kitchen and shifted closer. He looked at the woman seriously and said in a low voice, "Are you from the government? Am I being taken away because I'm weird?" The last part was said very quietly.

Tony's heart broke for the kid.

Burt seemed like a genuinely nice guy, so she wasn't particularly worried about him being abusive or anything. Kurt Hummel just seemed like a kid who was afraid of disappointing his father. It was sad.

She took pity and did something she probably should have done from the start. Taking advantage of the kid's bowed head, she pulled her wand out discreetly and cast muffliato around them, then stowed it back away. Now Burt would only hear a faint buzzing noise if he came near.

"You are not weird Kurt. The things you can do aren't even abnormal."

Kurt snorted. "I doubt that."

"You know Kurt, I'm like you, I can do things too."

Toni glanced at the kitchen. When she was sure the coast was clear she pulled out her wand out for Kurt to see. She looked around the room, until she found an elegant silver picture frame on the mantle. She pointed her wand at it and with the flick of her wrist it began levitating.

Kurt gasped.

The picture steadily floated toward them until it was directly in front of Kurt, then whatever force that held it up disappeared and the laws of gravity reactivated. It fell right out of the air and into Kurt's waiting hands.

"Who is that?" Toni indicated the woman in the photo.

"My mother."

That photograph had been one of the last pictures Kurt took with his mother, he was eight then. In it Elizabeth's arms wrapped around a younger Kurt, she looked very happy smiling down at her son.

"She died after this."

Toni nodded. She of course already knew this. She went through great pains to gather as much information about Kurt Hummel as she could. It was so difficult since none of his relatives seemed to be magical at all. All she could find on a Elizabeth Hummel was an old obituary dated back a few years.

"Do you know if... Was she different like you?"

Kurt shrugged. "I don't remember much from then, other than a few accidents I caused."

Tony decided to do damage control later if necessary and cut to the chase, "Kurt you're a wizard."

Kurt's head shot up. After a moment he said, "And you're a wizard too?" He didn't look even remotely convinced.

There were times when Kurt thought he was crazy, those occurred more often then not. There were even days when, though he didn't believe in such nonsense, he thought himself possessed. Never in his young life had the term 'wizard' ever came to mind, and it certainly wasn't happening now.

"No," Toni answered patiently. "I am a witch. Now, I know it may sound a little strange -"

"Oh, it's absurd." He interjected.

"But I'd like you to give it a chance. Let me speak my bit and some time I'll take you to the Ministry. There's nothing like an eye-full of magic to make the most cynical believers."

Kurt really didn't want to go anywhere with this strange woman. He felt like that didn't matter, that he didn't really have a say. There was only the smallest part of his mind that was willing to do whatever to get answers. The rest of his brain was screaming 'change the subject!' So he did.

"How did you make the-" Kurt searched for the frame that has been in his lap only moments ago but it had vanished. He looked up at Tony. She was staring over his shoulder, suppressing a smile. He slowly followed her gaze to the mantle. The picture was sitting in it's original place. For a moment Kurt thought that maybe it had never moved.

Toni leaned in conspiratorially. "Magic."

Kurt's eyes widened. "What about my dad? Or is this supposed to be a secret thing?" He asked, forgetting he wasn't supposed to be believing any of this.

"Yes and no. While we magic folk prefer to live in a state of semi secrecy, it's allowed for a few exceptions under certain circumstances. After you are seen by the Ministry it will be up to you whether you tell your father since he's a muggle - non magic person that is. Before you make that decision, I'd like to inform you more about how this works so you're not guessing in the dark about anything."

"If I'm not telling dad about this yet, shouldn't we be more discreet?"

Toni inclined her head towards the kitchen. Seconds later Burt walked out with a hand pressed to his temple. Kurt watched curiously as his dad shook his head furiously. Behind her back Toni discreetly waved her wand and lifted the muffliato charm.

The fuzzy sound that had previously been plaguing Burt disappeared. "Did you two hear that weird buzzing?"

Kurt turned to Toni wide-eyed.

* * *

The strange woman eventually left after first exchanging contact information with Burt from the fake school. She told many things about this made up institution so convincingly that Kurt nearly believed her. Before she left she let the Hummel's know that she would be returning in three days with all of the necessary information proving the school's legitimacy as well as papers for them to sign.

Three days later, at much of the same time as before, Antonia Wellington was back just like she said. Burt carefully went through everything, or so he thought. The papers proving the school's legitimacy were actually random crayon drawings and a confundus charm done only to her knowledge. Kurt raised his eyebrow at the former. Once Burt found everything in order they moved onto the paperwork. These were actually legitimate legal documents, though they were for the Ministry's purposes and cleverly disguised to appear differently to muggles.

 _"These are to get you into the system."_ She'd whispered to Kurt.

Kurt was the only Hummel whose actual signature they needed, other than that the rest was information to get Kurt registered in the magical world. Antonia only added spaces for Burt to sign to be more realistic.

After all of the legal documentation was out of the way Antonia was preparing to leave again. She informed them that she would be bringing by a copy of the curricular's schedule the following week and was gone.

* * *

It has been nearly a month since the woman had stepped into the Hummel's lives and things were already different. The more times Kurt saw magic or accidentally performed it, the more difficult it was becoming to deny its existence. Some might say he was beginning to believe in it. He was even reading a small book on famous magical herbs and their properties that Toni left him during her last visit.

It was a foggy Thursday morning that Kurt opened the door to reveal Toni. After a suspiciously brief conversation with Burt, she was asking Kurt if he minded going to the Ministry. After a month, Kurt just went with it. Magic was weird and evidently made people agree with you.

Ten minutes later Kurt found himself getting into the passenger seat of an old Ford Anglia and leaving Lima behind.

Toni told him that the city was just outside of Cleveland, _underground_. Kurt made a face, thinking it must be drafty, and 'Why would anyone place a whole city underground?'

They made small talk about random little things for a good twenty minutes before it really got interesting. They were on a back road near a few industry farms, when Toni jabbed a little blue button. She then pulled a lever Kurt previously didn't even notice and the sky suddenly seemed much closer, and the ground much farther than was natural for a car.

Kurt let out a squeak of terror as the vehicle shot into the air. They flew up just above the clouds before they stopped gaining altitude and began moving forward. From there Toni continued driving like before... except now they were invisible and now if he was to open his door he could die.

Toni laughed at him clutching his chest and trying to shrink into the car seat. "I'm sorry, I forgot that normal cars don't do that."

Kurt glared at her. "Is there something wrong with the highway?"

Toni ignored his tone. "No. This way is much faster though."

Kurt stopped taking to her after that. During the silence he slowly allowed himself to relax and even was brave enough to look out the window. Though terrifying, the world was quite beautiful from this height.

* * *

Over the years Toni had managed to get a job with the Ministry as the muggle equivalent to a social worker, though this was much more emotionally and financially rewarding. This was made possible by a life changing field assignment back in the day. She got recommendations from a few _very influential_ young Aurors... but that's a story for another time.

All that mattered was that she was no longer the second in command (of two people) of monitoring underage magic activity in a stuffy office with broken equipment. That was a very important job but the glamour was hardly above Magical Maintenance.

Now she was about to make a little boy's dreams come true (even if he had yet to realize them), and stop seeing magic as a bad thing.

Tony smiled.

Kurt Hummel was hardly her first assignment, but thus far he certainly proved to be one of the most interesting. Tony was secretly really hoping the ministry would allow her to be his mentor.

 _That_ was her dream job. After Auror training didn't quite work out her ambition went into training young witches and witches. While the adrenaline that came with field work was amazing, it could never compare to a wide eyed child taking their first steps into the world of magic.

She realized this the first time she got to tell a little girl that she was a witch. She had taken the little girl and her mother to the Ministry where they were taken care of by a different official from then on. It had killed her when that was the end of her work. A few more times and she couldn't take it, so she went and got her magical education license.

She hadn't gotten to permanently mentor anyone yet because they kept giving the job to more experienced workers who didn't have such a random past in odd jobs. She was bitter over it sometimes, but she didn't take it personally. They didn't want someone with a high flight risk.

The woman glanced at Kurt who was a little more relaxed and staring over the dashboard with an awestruck expression.

* * *

Over the dashboard Kurt saw a tiny building (that was probably actually very big) in the sea of grass.

Evidently Toni saw it too as her face lit up in a cheery smile and she exclaimed. "You Kurt Hummel are about to enter Moria!... At least that's what most call it. "

"From Middle-Earth?" Kurt wondered.

"So you're familiar with Tolkien. You should fit in just fine." At the confused look on Kurt's face, she further explained, "The Magical World is kind of obsessed with him. His books are popular among us. Though we're still unsure whether he was actually a wizard." She added as an afterthought. "You know there are a number of wizard historians trying to prove that Middle-Earth is actually a lost civilization."

"Hmm. So what's its real name?"

"The Underground City of Bree."

"Is that also a reference?"

"No, it's actually named after Bree Wildsmith the descendant of Ignatia Wildsmith. She was an explorer, a geologist, and an inventor. She founded it shortly after the Americas were settled when she was on a geology expedition looking for a rocks with magical properties. She found a massive cave filled with previously undiscovered gems and stones. Thus how it came to be nicknamed."

The conversation lulled as Toni shifted gears and flew the still invisible car into the empty parking lot outside the building he'd seen. From here it really was quite large. Once the car was only inches above the ground, the woman clicked the 'anti-gravity button' (as Kurt dubbed it) and the car landed back on pavement with a small shudder.

"So I've just been told that I'm a wizard by a strange, eccentric woman and am now being taken to a secret underground civilization... Am I going to have to defeat an evil megalomaniac?"

Toni raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry all the Dark Lords have been defeated." She answered seriously.

Kurt's eyes grew huge. "So there have been evil overlords?"

Tony pressed the button that made the car visible again and threw it in park.

"I think that's a conversion for when you're older." She said, wanting to stick to lighter topics rather than overload Kurt when he only just found out he was a wizard.

Kurt protested, "But I want to know!"

"No." She said flatly. "Let's go inside."

She got out and waited for Kurt to do so too. When he never did she walked over to his side and opened the door, inside he sat with his seatbelt still buckled and arms crossed. She looked at him expectantly and in turn he gave her the same look.

"I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me. I need to know what I'm getting myself into."

Toni sighed heavily and leaned against the car, her arms crossed. "Okay, I'll answer any questions you have with a yes or no. Only if I find them appropriate."

"I want fully detailed answers to all of my questions, namely ones pertaining to Dark Lords."

"I answer one question in essay format and you get your ass out of the car."

"You tell it to me straight if it might affect my decision in the matter."

"Sorry, Kurt. You don't get any say in your magical education. All young witches and wizards are required by law to attend some sort of schooling until they come of age. Once you have control over your powers you're free to snap your wand in half and bury the robes. But until you're seventeen you're stuck with us."

It was Kurt's turn to sigh, as he realized that he couldn't fight that logic - and more importantly the squad of trained mages that would surely come after him if he tried. He reluctantly undid the seatbelt. Tony stepped back to allow him to get out of the car.

"Come on. I'll buy you ice cream and I'll answer a few of your morbid questions, then we go back to the Disney magic. Got it?"

Together they made their way across the barren parking lot toward the entrance. They were nearly to the front door when Kurt finally spoke. "Fine, but no ice cream. It's horrible for you."

"Aren't you a little young to be worried about your weight?" Toni asked, holding the door open.

He stopped in the doorway. "Who says I'm worried about my weight? I care about my complexion." With that he spun around and walked inside, leaving Toni to ponder over that statement.

When Tony got inside Kurt was already standing by the front desk talking to the receptionist, who was being uncharacteristically polite and friendly. She saw Kurt's mouth move, but only heard the young girl's response to whatever he said.

"Aren't you sweet! I was going to buy some potion to change it back, but you're right. You just saved me a lot of money and a trip to the apothecary. You know, the man who works there is such a-"

That's when Toni stepped in. "Okay! If you'll excuse us," she said harshly. "We need to get into the city."

"Oh. Hello Antoinette." The girl didn't even look at her, she only leaned in closer to Kurt. "You know if you want a new mentor all you have to do is ask." She nodded obnoxiously and patted Kurt on the shoulder.

" _Thank you!_ " Toni grabbed her kid's shoulder and steered him toward the elevator.

They went down, down, down, and then the elevator doors were opening into a spacious room. They went through the room's twin oak doors... Kurt gasped loudly, his jaw dropping open.

Before him were countless shops lining the cobbled street. His eyes first followed the street that circled a beautiful marble fountain before forking off into different directions. Then his eyes snapped back to the shop fronts hungrily.

This city was not at all what he'd been expecting. Kurt had imagined the city to be dank and dark with torches to light it when he was told it was underground, but this place... All around it was bright and cheerful - he was uncertain where exactly the light was coming from - strangely it felt like he was outside standing in the sunshine. Kurt wished he had more eyes to see everything.

Toni grinned at Kurt's amazement. She gave him a moment to really take it all in, then grabbed his hand and tugged to the left. At first Kurt stayed glued to the spot, unwilling to part with the incredible view, but eventually closed his mouth and allowed himself to be pulled through the sizable crowd.

As they made their way down the cobbled street Kurt made do with his two eyes and drank as much in as possible. He probably looked like an owl with a horrible twitch, the way he was constantly swinging his head around so much it looked like it was spinning at the neck.

Along the sidewalks all kinds of people flitted in and out of the shops; children blowing unnaturally massive bubbles, old women in pointed hats, wizards wearing business robes, young witches gossiping about the latest edition of 'Which Witch', old men complaining about the new laws passed, teenagers arguing over quidditch teams (whatever that was).

Even crazier than the people were the things they carried: oddly shaped packages, animal cages, baskets full of spell books, strangely odored tubes of liquids, candy, anything really. Kurt saw several people carrying _broomsticks_. The last one was a strange comfort to Kurt, witches and wizards riding brooms was one thing he could understand.

Kurt was nearly swept away when he got distracted by a curly-haired boy with bushy eyebrows to match.

"Mr. Brown I finished the assigned level two standard Defensive Magical Theory and mom gave me some spending money. May I get that Defense book I saw last week?" The boy asked hopefully.

The man, Mr. Brown, was an old wizard with a neat handlebar mustache.

Kurt never heard the reply, Toni had pulled him to the opposite side of the street. From then on she had to keep a firm grip on his arm so as not to lose him as they continued walking.

The two were taken out of view but the young wizard buy stayed on his mind. The boy couldn't have been much younger than himself and seemed pretty familiar with magic, maybe even good at it. Kurt's stomach gave a nervous jolt. Ever since he was told he was a wizard he'd felt out of place and scared of being a disappointment, even when he barely believed any of it. He only hoped that he could find a place in this strange new world, especially since he was late being introduced. It did, however, comfort him to see another teen with a mentor. Maybe his situation wasn't as strange as it seemed.

Since the elevator Kurt had been pushed and jostled, nearly stepped on, and at one point accidentally shoulder checked by an old wizard hobbling past.

Kurt rubbed the shoulder that had been hit, which happened to carry his still recovering arm. "Is it always this crammed?" He asked.

His mentor laughed. "Crammed? This is nothing. In a few weeks time, once school starts up, this place will be worse than New York."

"Have you been?"

Toni guided him around a pile up of people, 'ooing' and 'awing' over something.

"Only a few times. Personally I prefer Ohio. I got enough of these crowds doing office work down here. You?"

"No, but it's my dream to live there some day." Kurt answered.

After what felt like an eternity of walking they finally arrived at the ministry office. It was equally impressive, if not more so, than the rest of the city. It appeared to be only a few stories high, but who knew how much further underground it probably went down. What could be seen of it was magnificent. The large, snowy building looked like it had been carved from the underground mountain it sat in front of. Below the building itself was a set of large marble stairs. At the top of the stairs there were several Greek style pillars holding up a sloping roof overlooking a row of glass doors. The doors had beautiful, dark wooden paneling around the edges.

Inside the fancy glass doors was a wide rounded atrium. Rows of tall office buildings lined the walls, many of their occupants barely visible through its transparent windows. A steady crowd of ministry workers streamed to and fro, in between the offices.

Toni led him off to the side toward a pair of lifts. They stepped in and she pressed one of the numerous buttons on the panel.

"We're going to the legal department." She explained. "I need to get a few things, then we'll go to the bank."

Kurt wondered what she had brought him for, it seemed like she was running errands for herself. He didn't say anything though. He was thoroughly enjoying this underground city, getting to see it with his own eyes was a treat enough.

Once the lift reached the correct floor they went into a big room full of manila files full of paperwork. Toni searched for one, finding it quickly, and flipped it open. As she quickly read through it her eyes lit up, evidently seeing good news. After throwing it into her bag, Toni led Kurt back through the labyrinth that was the ministry and they headed to the bank.

* * *

The bank looked like a tiny ministry, the only difference being the creature guarding the front doors. Kurt assumed was a goblin, since on the way over Toni had mentioned that it was goblins who ran the bank.

"There was an issue at another bank about a decade ago." She said vaguely. "Goblins have been that much more cautious ever since, which makes security pretty tight." She then went on to give a brief history lesson on the place.

Apparently this bank was the only one in America run by goblins, and one of some two hundred in the world. There had been a campaign in the US against goblins around the time of muggle segregation. Very few humans in the magical world trusted these creatures to be fair, let alone with their money.

"Yeah, that's a goblin." Toni whispered as they walked up the stone steps.

If Kurt was being honest, he didn't trust them either. By the way the creatures looked, wizards had every right but to be wary.

He tried his best not to stare at the creature, but this proved a difficult task. This was the first magical creature he'd ever seen. He settled on watching it out of the corner of his eyes.

The goblin was a head shorter than him, with pointy ears, and long fingers and feet. He noted it's beady, black eyes that held a cold and calculating stare. The goblin slowly tilted his head toward him. Kurt gulped and hastened to look away. His mind was quickly occupied as his eyes then found a small wooden plaque hanging on the doors.

It read, 'Steal, and you die.'

Kurt didn't know whether to giggle or shudder, as he was unsure how serious these goblins actually were.

They walked through a pair of great bronze doors and into the bank itself. There were two long counters on either side of the room, a different goblin sat at a stool behind it doing various jobs. Countless of them were scrawling on thick paper with large feathers, a few compared gems and weighed different coins on sets of brass scales, and then there were more showing people to various doors that led out of the room.

Kurt subconsciously moved closer to Toni as they walked to the end of the room. There they were greeted by a goblin.

"Afternoon." Toni greeted back.

The goblin opened his mouth to say something but was cut off.

"I have the key." She slapped it down on the table. "We're going to the Hummel's vault, it was -"

"Yes, I know of which one you speak." The goblin frowned. He motioned to someone behind them. "Grimgook will take you."

They followed the indicated goblin to one of the doors leading out of the hall. Inside Kurt was surprised to see that the room past the door dark wasn't a room at all. It was a narrow cave with a set of tracks in the center. Quite similar to what he had expected the city to look like: Dark, filthy, torches lining the walls.

Then there was an ugly creature and a young woman telling him to get into a rickety cart. Kurt reluctantly took a seat, pressing himself as close to the center as space would allow. The cart then zoomed off... at a relatively slow pace. It really wasn't going very fast, but as someone who'd never been to an amusement park, Kurt felt as though he were on the world's speediest rollercoaster.

Fortunately for him the nightmare ended quickly. The cart rolled to a stop directly in front of a big, metal, hinged door. The trio hopped out and Grimgook stepped ahead of them. The goblin took a long fingernail and swiped it down a crack in the vault door. There was a puff of green smoke and then the heavy door swung forward with a loud creak. Grimgook moved back.

Kurt was so interested in how the vault was opened that by the time he became curious about what it held Toni had stepped into the cell, obscuring his view.

She knelt, producing a linen bag and began to fill it. It was then that he noticed the large piles of gleaming metal. Inside the vault was a variety of coins and even a few gems could be seen among the treasure, glinting as the meager torch-light flickered. The coins ranged from small and bronze to silver to large and gold. Kurt concluded that the Wizarding World used these as their currency.

When the bag was bulging with coins, Toni left the vault and the goblin resealed it.

Toni mentally weighed it. "I think that should keep you out of the bank for a while."

Kurt thought she was talking to herself, but then she was holding out the hefty sack of coins for him to take. He eyed it hesitantly.

"Just take it." Toni urged. "I'll explain everything outside."

Kurt slowly reached his hand out, as if expecting her to suddenly pull back. He curled his fingers around the tied off area. Once Toni let go he realized how heavy it was and quickly moved to cradle the bottom with the other hand.

They climbed back into the cart and sped off.

"I'm assuming all of this is money?"

You smiled. "Yep, wizard currency. There's three different types of coins: galleons, sickles, and knuts. Galleons are the big gold ones. Sickles are silver. Knuts are bronze. Seventeen sickles to a galleon, and twenty-nine knuts to a sickle."

Kurt mentally stowed that information away.

"I'd say there's probably a hundred galleons, give or take." Tony added, eyeing the bag.

Kurt suddenly felt very overwhelmed. He was carrying more money than his father had probably ever seen. After his mother left them, between the hospital bills and payments and insurance he knew his dad had trouble making end meet for several years. They had only just gotten financially stable! That whole time that small fortune (he still didn't believe it belonged to him) was sitting in a musty underground vault.

Outside the bank, Toni took them to a small gelato vendor on the edge of the city, where she forced Kurt to share one with her.

_"Dude, be a child."_

They sat down at one of the patio tables next to the shop. It wasn't until after they finished their ice cream that Tony actually said anything.

"Did you know that your mother was adopted?" She suddenly asked.

Kurt nodded. "Yeah. Dad told me after she died, he said that didn't make grandma any less of family."

Toni smiled. "Exactly. Which is why she left you this." Tony indicated the gold filled bag.

"I don't understand."

"Your grandmother was a witch. She never had the chance to have any children of her own before her husband died, and she never remarried. So she went to a muggle orphanage and adopted your mother and raised her. She was a muggle born so none of her family, including her muggle daughter would have any use for wizard currency. None except you." She bopped him on the nose playfully. "When you were young she recognized the signs and told your mother. Then before she died she made sure to write you into her will. So you now have all of her things in your possession."

To say Kurt was shocked would be an understatement. Only a month ago he thought he was a relatively normal boy with a slight strange, unmentionable affliction. Then he was being told that he had magical abilities, he belonged to a secret society, unicorns really existed, his grandmother had been a witch!

It was distressing to realize that had his grandmother still been with them he could have had a familiar face to help him through this. Among all of these revelations It was such a small comfort that his mother had at least known about him.

After five minutes of nothing being said, Toni began to grow worried.

"You're quiet. Are you alright?" She asked gently.

"Yeah, fine." Kurt lied, offering a forced smile. He looked behind him at the surrounding shops. "Do you mind if we go into some of them?" Perhaps some shopping with his newfound fortune would ease the dull ache in his chest.

"Sure. Let's go."

* * *

The next two hours were devoted to Kurt dragging his witch companion into every shop he saw that looked interesting... which was all of them.

They went into book shops, places that sold broomstick supplies, apothecaries, magical pet stores. Toni had to pry Kurt away from the last one.

_"What would your father say if you brought home a cat that breathed fire?"_

Apparently 'Magic could convince him' wasn't the answer. He then received a lengthy speech on responsible magic usage concerning muggles. He still wasn't allowed to buy the owl.

Running around Bree certainly didn't take away the pain, but it proved to be an excellent distraction as well as filling one of the many holes in his chest.

The most fulfilling moment of the day was when it came time to purchase a wand.

The wand shop was on a lonely side street, not far from the lift that they arrived on. It sat alone at the end of the cobbled road, away from the hustle and bustle. There was a rotting wooden sign with peeling gold letters above the door. The display case beside the door held exactly three wands sitting on plush red cushions.

Inside a wispy old wizard fiddled with various boxes at the counter. He ceased his work when he heard the bell above the door tinkle.

The shop's interior was dusty and silent, yet it gave off an air of something powerful that sent tingles up the young wizard's spine

"Ah, hello!" The man called.

He made his way around the counter and stood in front of the pair.

"Hey, Mr. Peregrym. We're here to buy this one his first wand." Toni told him.

"Well, of course." The man, Mr. Peregrym answered cheekily, then turned to Kurt

"Hello. Mister...?"

"Hummel. Kurt Hummel." They briefly shook hands.

"You must be one of my older first time customers." The man commented.

Kurt didn't know what to say to that, so he remained silent a faint blush tinting his cheeks pink.

"This one's a special case."

Kurt glared at Toni. In turn she stuck out her tongue.

The wandmaker pulled a long tape measure from his pocket. "Hold out your right arm, if you please Mister Hummel." Kurt held out his arm and the man began taking measurements. He measured from shoulder to finger, wrist to elbow, knee to armpit, and around his head. The whole time Kurt stood completely still.

Mr. Peregrym regarded Kurt unwaveringly, making a few inquisitive noises occasionally. Kurt realized that the tape measure was now floating around on its own. After a long time of scrutiny, long after the magical tape measure had fallen to the floor in a heap, the old man finally walked to the shelf behind the counter and began shifting through a row of boxes. He came back moments later carrying about five of the long white boxes. He set them down on the table top and opened one. He pulled a long, thin piece of wood from inside it.

"Seven and a quarter inches, Maple and dragon heartstrings." Kurt took the thing from him awkwardly. "Just try and give it a wave."

Kurt had barely lifted the wand when it was snatched away.

Mr. Peregrym opened another box. "Ebony and unicorn hair, nine inches. Very flexible."

This one was also quickly taken away. Kurt tried another wand from the boxes on the counter and then Mr. Peregrym took them all away with a mumbled, "None of _these_ will do." The man returned to the shelf and trifled through at least ten other boxes. These he didn't even have Kurt try out, he seemed to know the answer just looking at them. "No." He murmured and shoved them aside.

"A tricky customer, eh?" He laughed delightfully.

Kurt was beginning to get nervous. What if none of these wands worked? What if they said 'sorry wrong kid' and he was never allowed back into the Magical World? He glanced at Toni, who sat in one of the waiting chairs looking unperturbed. What if -

"Aha!" Mr. Peregrym rushed from behind the counter toward Kurt, holding yet another white box. "I had another young man come in not long ago, quite as difficult. But we found him a wand eventually. You'll find it's brother, I think, is perfect for you." The man carefully handed Kurt another wand. "Ten inches, Willow with a Phoenix feather core. Swishy. Excellent for charm work."

As Kurt's fingers curled around the smooth wood, a heady chill ran up his spine. Unlike the other wands this one seemed to fit in his grip perfectly, like it was specifically created for his palm. He instantly thought that he had to have this one. A flick of the wrist as good as proved that this wand was the one. Colorful sparks flowed in a graceful arc out of the end making Kurt start and nearly drop it. Mr. Peregrym cheered excitedly and took the wand much more gently than before, bringing it to the counter to ring it up.

Kurt let out a relieved breath that he didn't know he'd been holding, laughing shakily.

* * *

"Toni, what did you mean by 'a special case'?" Kurt asked once they were out of the shop.

"Almost all witches and wizards, muggleborns and purebloods alike, begin their magical education at ten or eleven." She answered, confirming Kurt's earlier suspicions.

"What's wrong with me?"

"You were a case of _our bad_. We were looking for you for quite some time. A few years ago, you set off or systems in the Improper Use of Magic department. We never had the trace on you properly then, but we still saw the massive wave of underage magic. If anything you should be proud. You outwitted the Ministry, you sneaky little fox."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "What's this trace thing?"

"It's how the government tracks underage witches and wizards. Most times it's just a warning, unless you do it in front of or on a muggle under non-emergency situations." She explained. "You are different than kids who attend a school. You have me and a curfew to keep you in line. You can do certain types of magic if I'm present or between the hours of eleven a.m. and four p.m. And don't worry," she grinned mischievously. "I'll have your nose to the grindstone. You'll catch up quickly enough."

* * *

The ride back was as uneventful as before. The only mildly exciting thing to happen was Toni nearly flipping the car. A flock of birds had appeared out of nowhere and she swerved to avoid hitting them.

"Fucking birds." She muttered. Then she froze and side eyed Kurt. "What I just said is a very bad word, you should never..."

Kurt watched the woman in mild amusement. "You know I do attend public school," A shadow fell over his face. "Or at least I used to."

The spastic woman stopped herself mid-speech when she noted his remorseful expression.

"Are you okay, kid?" Toni asked.

Kurt looked down at his shoes. "Yeah, fine."

"Ah ah, nope." Toni stopped the car where it was in the air and gave Kurt her full attention.

"We're going to be the best of buds and as your instructor I'm going to need honesty. Now. As your future best friend, I need to know some stuff."

Kurt wondered whether he knew enough magic yet to jump out of the car from this height and still survive... Toni would just scoop him up in the car or use magic to make him first back.

"They used to bully me at my old school. Just ignorant taunts, a few pushes here and there." He said quietly.

"Is that why your dad is homeschooling you?"

Kurt shook his head. "No. He only recently let me after a kid broke my arm." He waved his bad arm lamely.

"Mmmm. We might need to go ninja wizard on some people before the day's through."

Kurt have her a funny look.

"Kidding." She laughed. "But you know what I'm going to do?"

"What?"

"I'm teaching you how to fight."

Kurt frowned. "I thought you said that I was supposed to keep this a secret?"

"That's why you be discreet about it."

"Aren't you a government official?"

"Alright!" Toni huffed dramatically. "But I still think you should learn some good old fashion muggle self-defense and a little fancy extra defensive wand work wouldn't hurt either. I'm not amazing myself, but I did go to auror training."

"What's a aur-a-or whatever?"

"Evil wizard catcher. Technically I'm not a fully trained auror, but I know my shit- shit." She paused and inwardly berated herself. "And as repayment you have to promise me to be honest."

She stuck out her hand for Kurt to shake. Kurt didn't hesitate this time.

"Deal." He said, then let go of her hand. "Now can we start moving again? Being suspended hundreds of feet above the earth makes me nervous."

Toni chuckled and obliged.

All too quickly for Kurt's liking they were back in Lima parked in front of the Hummel residence.

"How did you know about my grandmother?" Kurt had to ask before he had to leave.

"Hours upon hours of searching through records. I had to make sure you were a muggleborn and didn't have any magical relatives."

"Thank you for that." Kurt said earnestly. "What's a muggleborn?"

"It's a witch or wizard with no magical parentage." Toni answered.

"Does it make a difference?" Kurt asked nervously.

Tony almost said yes, thinking that the honest answer. She internally chastised herself. Yes, there were still those who would always be apart of the old prejudices and think themselves above everyone. No, it didn't make a difference. While it changed how some people saw others, those people didn't matter and it only affected your powers if you let.

"Not in the slightest."

Assimilating into the Magical World would be tough for Kurt, having grown up among muggles, and she couldn't shield him from prejudice, but she had faith that Kurt Hummel would do just fine.


	3. Blasts From the Past

Kurt Hummel sat behind his desk, eagle-feather quill scratching away on a piece of parchment.

Tomorrow was he and his mentor's 'anniversary', it would be exactly four years since the day they met, the day he discovered magic. As tradition, they had celebrated September 18 for the past two years, usually with cake or a field trip to Bree.

This year however, they wouldn't be seeing each other. Toni had contracted a case of the flu and been out the past week. The previous Tuesday she had written him to let him know she wouldn't be able to make it, insisting that it was Wizard flu to Kurt's amusement. Kurt sent an enchanted get well card and a 'care kit' when he sent off her owl, Eleanor, not having his own to use. Now he was writing a _Happy Anniversary_ letter, knowing that Tony would do the same, and he could send it with Eleanor.

In four years Kurt Hummel had come far, both as a person and with magic.

Although he got a late start, he put his heart and soul into becoming a self-sufficient wizard, working diligently year-round under his mentor's supervision. At seventeen Kurt was studying level eight magic and had taken his O.W.L's and passed with flying colors - these were the Wizard equivalent of the S.A.T and decided what D.W.I (Done with Wizarding Instruction) examinations he would take. His best subject had been Charms, with Transfiguration coming in close second, and his worst was Defense. No matter how many extra lessons Tony gave him in Defense Against the Dark Arts, he never got the hang of the actual wandwork.

Kurt was wrapping up the last paragraph when the ink flow faltered. He shook his quill, trying to coax the last bit of ink out, but along with his ink pot, it was empty. He groaned in annoyance and stood up to search for a spare pot.

A pen or pencil would have easily done the same job, probably even better than a quill, but mixing the beautiful calligraphy he saved for letters and his everyday scrawl would look odd. And he'd be damned if he had to rewrite the letter. It was also a matter of tradition. He really didn't understand why the Magical World insisted on wearing special clothes or using muggle tools from centuries ago, yet the symbolism behind it was exciting.

Kurt walked into the closet and pulled a box of miscellaneous items he'd collected over the years down from the top shelf. He sat it down on the floor and began rummaging through, figuring it must have spare supplies.

At the bottom he found many odds and ends he'd previously forgotten about. There were books, Chocolate Frog cards, some old candy, and what have you.

Kurt laughed upon seeing the mangled remains of a once dear scarf. It's mint green material was now covered in large holes, each having a thin ring of burnt material around them. He ran his fingers over the tag in the corner that hadn't melted all the way off. This had happened in the early days of his journey into potioneering. The thing had slipped from his neck and caused a chemical imbalance in what should have been a simple cold draught, that instead turned into a small explosion.

Kurt was older now and had passed most of his big exams, so he studied magic more independently. Now Toni came by for a practical lesson twice a week and assigned him essays and papers. Back then every weekday around eleven a.m. Toni would arrive at the Hummel's to begin their lessons. Then she'd secretly had him practicing Transfiguration, Potions, and a lot of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Since she couldn't legally bring him am actual unicorn and magical plants were too dangerous, studying Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures had to be done from a book.

As he got more comfortable, Kurt had steadily gained confidence with magic, or at least didn't squeal in terror every time he produced magic. In fact, by the six month mark he had become quite the transfiguration prodigy; it had been his best and favorite subject back then. After six months of hard work he had gotten himself to a level three. That lead to another trip to Bree (they had had so much fun messing around they nearly forgot to pick up his new books).

It was easy to laugh at the incident fondly now that it was well into the past, but when it had first happened, for a very long time it was a dark, shameful memory. The Scarf Debacle of 2007, as Toni called it, had occurred a few months after Kurt's magic lessons began.

. . .

_Kurt woke up, got dressed, made breakfast - the usual. Burt had already left for the shop by then, so he was by himself. After breakfast, Kurt got to work on his normal assignments and was completely done by ten-thirty. That gave him an extra half hour to do whatever before Toni arrived. However, she never did arrive. He waited by the door until twelve, but no one came._

_He had then decided to take matter into his own hands._

_She might have gotten caught up or be sick, so what was the use of waiting, he figured._

_Though advised, it wasn't required to have Toni present. They did give him a curfew of times between which he could practice magic. Why would they go to the trouble if he could only do it with his instructor?_

_Today they were supposed to practice Defense and then Potions. He would actually need some help with the former, so he skipped straight to the latter. At least that way he would get something done._

_He left the living room to gather his potion supplies. All of them were gathered in a large box, hidden in plain sight on a shelf in the basement._

_He aimed his wand at the heavy box. "Wingardium Leviosa." With a swish and flick of the wrist, the box levitated and began to fly up the steps. Kurt trailed behind it, and once they were in the kitchen, he guided it onto the countertop._

_Kurt grinned broadly at this simple feat. That was the first time he used magic by himself, I_ _t was exciting._

_Humming, Kurt began pulling out the box's contents: A pewter cauldron, a special ladle, a set of scales, a box with many compartments that held the potions ingredients._

_The previous week Toni had mentioned a drought for the common cold, so that's what he looked for in his potions book. It was easy to find, right between Bezoars and Draught of the Living Death. The potion itself looked simple enough. Kurt had full faith that he could do it._

_Soon he was stirring his half done potion, which was boiling on the hotplate in the center of the island._

_Everything was going perfectly, then the recipe called for six spider legs to be added while the potion was stirred counterclockwise. The box of spider legs were on the counter across the kitchen._

_He switched the ladle to his left hand and continued his even clockwise stirring. His right hand picked his wand up off of the table. He carefully pointed it at the box of severed arachnid parts. The cauldron bubbled making him startle. His pulse picked up speed and a sweat broke out over his brow. Kurt lowered his wand and peaked at the potions book._

_Okay, so it was supposed to do that._

_See? I have this. Kurt thought._

_"I got this." He said aloud as though that would make it so._

_Kurt loosened his scarf. It was getting ridiculously stuffy in there. He turned his torso and pointed his wand again._

_"Wingardium Leviosa."_

_The box wiggled its way from between the other ingredients, flying straight up. He willed it toward himself, but the thing just continued to float up._

_Hold a second. Is Wingardium Leviosa a summoning spell? 'Cause it's doing a hell of a job summoning. Kurt thought sardonically._

_A noise behind him made him jump and stop stirring. His loss of concentration also resulted in the box of spider legs go crashing down._

_In that moment, time seemed to go in slow motion and many things happened at once._

_Kurt spun around. First he saw his father standing in the doorway, with an unreadable expression. Then, out of the corner of his eyes, his scarf slipped from his neck and landed in the cauldron._

_He had just enough time to throw himself on the floor and fling his arms above his head, before a small explosion rocked the kitchen._

_Within seconds Toni was bursting through the front door and running through the house. As soon as she saw Kurt cowering on the floor and a shocked Burt standing there. Her training immediately kicked in. She pointed her wand, which she had whipped out the moment she heard the explosion, at Burt before he could even register her presence. Red sparks shot at him, instantly taking effect and causing Burt to go down. Before he hit the floor Toni flicked her wand and he was held up by an invisible force._

_Fortunately the mess wasn't too bad and Toni was able to put everything in order herself in no time. After she was done with the proper protocol, she checked on Kurt and told him that it was an accident and everything was fine. Kurt pretended to agree so that she would leave. That night he locked his bedroom door, then curled up in his bed, and cried until he couldn't anymore._

. . .

Kurt folded the scarf and placed it back in the box.

That hadn't been the last incident. After that first time he had certainly been even more cautious with magic. Heck, for a good two weeks afterwords he'd refused to do anything more than study theories out of a book. It took another month until he tried potioneering at all. But no matter how cautious he was, accidents were bound to happen. The next one had happened about eight months later. Burt walked in during a transfiguration lesson. It wasn't nearly as scary because Toni was there this time, but it still left him very shaken.

The older he got, these incidents occurred far less often. On the occasion they did, ministry officials or his supervisor would have to clean up a mess or modify his father's memory. Anytime the latter happened, once the ministry people or his mentor left, Kurt had always cried.

He always hated the secrecy, but even though it was his decision he felt it necessary. After that first trip to the Ministry Kurt had decided not to tell his father about being a wizard, though Tony strongly suggested it. His argument was that, ' _I want to wait awhile, until I can explain all of this better myself.'_ His mentor was adverse to his decision, but respected it none the less. At the time he thought that it would be best to keep his abilities from his father, that and he was scared.

The next thing Kurt picked from the box was an outdated history book, _Europe's Most renowned Magical Institutions._

This was the first book he ever bought, it was during that first time in Bree. He saw it in a used book store they visited, sitting on a rack of on-sale books. He'd curiously picked it up and read a few pages. Tony argued that the book was outdated as it was written by Merlin nearly a thousand years before, but Kurt insisted he buy it. He only read the first two chapters, then it was put away and forgotten until he was fourteen. That was around the time that he really got interested in how magic schools worked. He went through countless books on the world's most renowned magical institutions and even a few about schools that had long since closed. It was ironic that it was that particular summer when he started obsessing about school. Or perhaps it was Toni noticing how lonely he was and mentioning it to Burt.

. . .

_For the best part of three years Kurt diligently studied magic under the supervision of Toni, and throughout Burt Hummel had been ignorant of his son's abilities. He had remained under the impression Kurt was studying music and high level math with some vague New England school, while homeschooling as well. Burt had been more than content with Kurt's education, however he worried about Kurt's lack of a social life, even his tutor had expressed concern in Kurt's lack of companions his age. This led Burt to look into public schools again._

_Kurt had been sitting in his bed, reading an outdated book on foreign magical schools after Toni left for the day, when his father unexpectedly walked in. Kurt hastened to hide the book, but his father already saw it. He settled for slapping his hand across the title as Burt took a seat in front of his feet. He looked at the book curiously. All Kurt could do was open and close his mouth when Burt slid the heavy book from beneath his hand._

_He held it up to the light. " **Europe's Most renowned Magical Institutions** by Merlin." He read aloud._

_"It's a Tolkien book." The teen wizard quickly lied._

_"Creative guy."_

_Kurt awkwardly chuckled._

_Burt took a few seconds to compose his thoughts. "Kurt there's something I've been needing to talk to you about."_

_Kurt's eyes widened comically and he bolted up. "Dad! We are not having the talk-"_

_"Slow your roll. It's not that talk, though that one will be coming up. No, I wanna talk to you about public school."_

_"Public school?" Kurt said slowly. "What about it?"_

_"I want you to consider it."_

_No, no way! He couldn't go back._

_Images of being called names, yelled at, being thrown around at recess, all the abuse he'd been subjected to in school, came flooding back. Most of those were from elementary school. He was fast approaching fourteen, which meant ninth grade... High school. Surely high school would be even worse. He'd seen Ned's Declassified, Degrassi, Law and Order - students **killed** other students in there. He'd be eaten alive._

_"I stay home, complete my studies within a reasonable amount of time, feed myself, make dinner for when you come home, and when I can I help out in the garage. Our system works just fine."_

_"The thing is kid, I don't think it does. I know you gotta be lonely spending all day by yourself."_

_"I'm not lonely." Kurt had insisted. "I have friends."_

_"The guys at the shop don't count,"_

_Kurt opened his mouth to protest._

_"And neither does your teacher."_

_He was struck with sudden inspiration. "Exactly dad! Toni. My lessons are at the same time as school. I can't just drop those."_

_"But you could reschedule. I already asked her if you could get your hours changed. She told me she just has to take it up with that fancy school of yours."_

_"So what? You two have been plotting behind my back?" Kurt asked scandalized._

_"Don't act so betrayed. I told her that I wanted to talk to you before we made anything official."_

_"You're just doing the parent thing where you say that so I feel like I have a choice when I don't."_

_"Kurt, I really do want you to at least try it. But if you really don't want to go I won't force you."_

_"I really, really don't want to go dad." Kurt said honestly._

_"I still want you to consider it. You never know, this could make a huge difference in your life." Burt looked so hopeful._

_He sighed. "I'll think about it - that's not a yes."_

_Burt smiled broadly. "I'm sure you'll love it. We could get you into some sports."_

_"Dad." He said flatly._

_Burt raised his hands defensively. "You never know."_

_Kurt put up a fake smile as Burt patted his legs then stood up and left. As soon as he was gone the smile fell into a miserable line._

_The following day Kurt had informed his father that he was willing to try public school again, making his dad very happy. When Tony arrived later on, Burt had immediately dragged her into the kitchen to discuss their options. Kurt listened in the next room throughout much of the conversation. He was admittedly impressed when his mentor took Burt's questions in stride without once having to pull out her wand. That quickly morphed into annoyance when she genuinely expressed how happy she was for this new arrangement. She told_ _Burt that she would inform the board - The ministry - and get permission to change Kurt's hours - curfew - and that would be that. Not surprisingly formal lessons were cancelled for the day. Kurt was left to independently study while Toni apparated to the Ministry immediately._

_Later that night Kurt was in his room again, this time reading the latest edition of Vogue when he heard a light knocking. Seconds later his mentor's head appeared in the doorway. "Hey Kurt!"_

_Kurt sat up and carefully placed the magazine in the bedside table. "Hi Toni."_

_The rest of the woman swung into view. "I had the meeting with the board this morning and got your curfew changed beginning in August. Your slot will be from five to nine. I'll be here between five and seven-thirty. I expect you to do the required reading when you can."_

_"Thanks. Did they give you any trouble?"_

_"Nah," She waved a hand. "I told them your circumstances. They inquired about your studies and I told them you were doing well, and that was that."_

_"And?" Kurt questioned._

_Toni walked further into the room, taking a seat at the end of the bed._

_"They did ask about the situation concerning your father."_

_"Oh."_

_"Yeah. I told them that you still preferred to keep it a secret. Of course I disagree, but I respect your choice."_

_"And yet you try to convince me otherwise."_

_"Exactly." Toni grinned._

_Kurt fell against the headboard with a huff of annoyance. "Other countries would side with me."_

_"Other countries have different laws on the matter. Kids on those countries would cut off their fingers to be able to tell the muggles in their life. Families have been split apart by secrets smaller than this."_

_Kurt groaned, "Don't start the 'wizards in China' speech."_

_Toni stuck her tongue out immaturely. "You started it."_

. . .

Kurt rolled his eyes fondly at the memory. He placed the book on the shelf with his other magical books, no longer needing to hide it. He suddenly remembered the state pot of ink he'd thrown in his desk drawer the other day. He went back to the desk and continued writing his letter. His mind continued to wander over the past two years.

He had begun public school that fall at William McKinley High School.

In the beginning, it was a constant pain balancing magic all the while keeping up with his muggle schoolwork, but Kurt was a diligent student so once he found a way to handle both it wasn't so bad.

The real struggle had been adapting to being around other teenagers constantly. He was a closeted gay wizard in a muggle's town. It took all of his self-control not to just whip his wand out and curse the football team on a daily basis, and that was during his first weeks when he was a wallflower. It took awhile until he came out of his shell enough to bring out the extravagant wardrobe, after that he didn't hold back in the fashion department. That's when the dumpster tosses, slushies, and the insults became a regular thing, then life really got difficult. Kurt got to the point that he was leaving his wand at home secretly stowed in his sock drawer, because the temptation to use it against his bullies was too great.

Needless to say freshman year had been a living nightmare. It wasn't until a few months into sophomore year when the glee club truly became a wacky family that McKinley became a little more bearable.

Throughout all of this Toni was not only his mentor but his rock as well. She helped him through the crazy mess the New Directions came to be, the taunts, the insecurity. He went to her for things that he just couldn't explain to his father. The week Burt found him performing the Single Ladies dance and he joined the football team, it was Toni that noticed what was happening and came to him. Her advice did help him see things differently, but it wasn't until after winning that football game that he finally came out to Burt.

Unfortunately after that Kurt constantly had her on his back about telling Burt that he was a wizard. In the beginning it was brought up every so often and dropped easily, then it became a daily argument. The worst it ever got was the week he pretended to be straight, then picked up a shift at the garage during lessons. All of this was done in an attempt to be the son he thought his dad wanted. Toni nearly wrung his neck. The argument was only dropped a few weeks into his junior year, the fateful week Burt ended up in a coma after his heart attack.

Kurt had to halt his writing and take a moment to collect himself. The day Mrs. Pillsbury pulled him out of French and told him his dad was in a coma had been the worst of his entire life. He reached up and pulled the pages of his calendar back, his father's hospital discharge papers were pinned to the wall there. Kurt lightly brushed his fingers across the papers. A few weeks ago when his father had come back home, he had hung it there as a reminder of what he almost lost.

The week that Burt had been in the hospital Kurt's lessons were put on hold, but Toni went to the hospital with him everyday. Together they sat by Burt Hummel's bedside hoping for him to get better. It wasn't until Kurt sang to Burt that he finally gave a sign of life when his hand moved. It had taken another week for him to fully awake and get well enough to return home, but there was no lasting damage that the doctors could see. The day before Burt was set to return home from the hospital, Antonia and Kurt had got into a fight.

. . .

_"Kurt?" Toni had asked._

_"Mmmm?" Kurt replied absentminedly. He wasn't really paying much attention to her, instead looking around the living room for any places he'd missed in his thorough cleaning of their living room. He'd spent that entire day preparing the house for his father's return. The whole time he'd seemingly forgot that he could have cleaned the entire house in three seconds flat had he used magic._

_"I think you need to tell your father." Toni saw him visibly stiffen the moment the words left her mouth._

_Kurt slowly stood back up from where he was bent over, picking up a lone shoe. He paused very briefly before continuing on._

_"About what?" He asked nonchalantly._

_"Kurt," Toni admonished. "It's been what? Nearly five years. He needs to-"_

_"No!" Kurt spun around. "No." He repeated a little more calmly. "He doesn't need to know, not with his bad heart."_

_Kurt briskly walked into the kitchen and began loading the dishwasher. Toni pressed her lips into a thin line and strode after him._

_"What happened to the kid I met? Huh?" She asked harshly. "The one that was adamant about not keeping secrets from his dad?"_

_"He grew up." He answered shortly. "He stopped being naïve and realized that blunt honesty gets you hurt!"_

_"And there it is. Honesty was your first instinct, which is usually right. Now you're scared."_

_"This isn't about me." Kurt deflected._

_"Of course it is. It's okay to be afraid." Toni said softly. "Kurt do you remember that week before you came out to him? You were terrified. At the same time you knew it needed to be done. He accepted you and you were both better men because of it."_

_"I don't think I'm going to be so lucky twice."_

_Toni grabbed Kurt's wrist and pulled hard. "Kurt he's your father. He's proved time and time again that he loves you."_

_"He grew up on the Bible and church. Do you know what they teach you there? That it's just wrong to fall in love if it's not with the right person. That witchcraft is demonic! What will he think of me when he finds out that I'm every part 'abomination'? God forbid he was somehow able to accept me for all of that, who's to say he won't have another heart attack. Next time he could die! I'm not putting that weight on his shoulders."_

_She pointed a finger at him threateningly. "First off, I don't want to ever hear you say those words about **our** kind ever again."_

_"I didn't-"_

_"I know. While you have to give the words people throw at you the power to affect you. It still doesn't make it okay to use them on yourself. It's demeaning to everyone like you._

_"Secondly, you are amazing. I know you say you're confident in who you are, but I also know you're still insecure. You. Are. Perfect. It's your father's job to love you unconditionally, which he does, and to take care of you."_

_"I don't want to lose him." Kurt slumped into a chair, rubbing his eyes._

_"I understand that you're worried, but I think he knows that your hiding something and that is stressing him out so much more. By not telling him you're carrying around a huge weight on your shoulders and it isn't healthy. It may be a bit shocking at first, but I don't think you'll be burdening him. If anything you'll be freeing both of you."_

_For the first time in ages Kurt didn't fight back. His face crumpled as he walked into his mentor's open arms, letting himself relax for once._

_"I know. You're right." He mumbled. "I need to tell him."_

_"Thank you." Toni sighed._

_After a few minutes Kurt let go and stepped away, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. Kurt walked into the living room and the himself on threw couch, taking his first break all day. Toni smiled as she walked past him on her way to the front door._

_"Besides, this way we wouldn't have to keep messing up his brain with obliviate." She called and then disappeared through the door._

_Kurt jumped up. "You said that didn't hurt him!"_

_A few days after that, once Burt had gotten settled back into their home, Kurt was pacing around the living room. Burt sat on the couch covered in a mountain of blankets, and Toni hung back by the stairs._

_"I'll leave you two to it."_

_"No!" Kurt exclaimed, taking a few hasty steps toward her. "Stay. Please?"_

_Toni raised her eyebrows questioningly. Kurt slowly nodded._

_"Okay, I'll stay."_

. . .

Now Kurt was out about his sexuality and magical abilities, and things were a little easier. Although public school still sucked, the experiences he had and the people he met there helped him to be brave. Without that them he never would have had the courage to come clean to his father about himself. It was nice not having to hide anymore...

Finn burst through the door making Kurt start and almost topple out of his chair. He quickly righted himself, then closed the spellbook laying open on the desk and flipped it over. The book had been ironically opened to the chapter on Muggle Repelling Charms.

It was nice not having to hide his sexuality from everyone, or magic from his _father_ , but due to something called the Magical Statute of Secrecy his extended family, including Finn and Carole, still couldn't know about magic. It's not that he didn't trust them, he just couldn't exactly go spouting the Magical World's secrets to whomever he pleased.

"Hey Kurt." Finn said, taking a seat on his bed. "Are you writing with a feather?"

"Yes Finn, it's called a quill." Kurt answered, still writing.

"Oh, like cartography stuff."

"Calligraphy."

"Right..."

Kurt was about to tell Finn off for being in his room for no reason, when the boy finally spoke his mind.

"Anyway, I wanted to know if I could ride with you to school. Your dad took my car to the shop to get the radiator fixed."

"Yeah. I leave at seven twenty."

"Cool, thanks." Finn made for the door, then turned around. "Is that a stick?" He asked curiously, indicating Kurt's wand resting on the table.

Without looking up from his letter, Kurt picked his wand off of the table top and slid it into his messenger bag out of sight.

"That's a wand, Finn." Kurt automatically corrected him, then froze. "Uh, didn't you hear? Wizards are all the rage on the runway these days." He tried to do damage control.

"You don't have to lie." Finn said, making his stomach drop unpleasantly.

How obvious was he if _Finn_ noticed? Now he would have to obliviate him or threaten him, neither of which would bring about pleasant consequences.

"I know you're secretly into all that nerdy stuff. I think it's actually pretty cool. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Kurt breathed in relief.

"Thanks Finn."

Finn smiled and walked out.

Kurt signed heavily and got up to put the box back away, in case Finn decided to go through his things.

Not so surprisingly, this was a common occurrence. Finn wasn't the brightest bulb in the box and had a knack for walking into rooms without knocking first. It really was a miracle Finn hadn't witnessed Kurt doing magic in the short time they lived together.

When Finn and Carole first moved in Kurt had to hide most of his magical things. For awhile Finn thought he was in the occult after he met Toni and saw one of Kurt's spellbooks. On a stroke of genius Kurt convinced Finn that he was secretly a nerd and was obsessed with World of Warcraft and magic. Finn thought it was cool and got excited. Burt and Toni had found it hilarious when Finn brought home Dungeons and Dragons and made Kurt play with him.

Recently, Kurt had gotten annoyed at constantly having to take everything out of his closet and from under the bed, so he charmed many of his possessions to appear differently to muggles. However, he wasn't entirely positive the spells were working, and he was so used to making up lies and hide things, it was second nature.

Kurt locked the door, to stop future interruptions, and returned to his desk. He folded the letter and sealed it in an envelope that was placed beside the window, to be mailed in whenever Eleanor appeared next.

Having already done his moisturizing routine and gotten ready for bed, he plopped down on the bed and was out in seconds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	4. Never Been Kissed

"Just a little further..." Kurt muttered in his sleep.

For such a graceful, put together boy, Kurt Hummel really wasn't an elegant sleeper. He laid diagonally across the bed, with one leg hung over the edge on one side, and his arm and head hanging off the other side. He snored softly between fragmented sentences.

He was having a dream about a strange corridor. In the dream there was another boy he was trying to catch, but every time Kurt caught his shoulder or got close enough to almost see his face, the boy dodged him and ran away even faster. His wand was out and he was about to jinx the boy...

A sharp tapping on the window made Kurt jolt awake and fall onto the floor. He sat up, rubbing his head and looked around groggily. His other hand came up to scratch his neck and he ended up nearly poking his eye out. It turned out at some point in his sleep he grabbed his wand and was still clutching it.

Vague images from the dream he'd been woken from played out in his mind, but before he could properly recall it, he was brought back to reality by the incessant tapping that woke him. Looking up, he noticed the owl colliding its beak with the window. He hastened to open the window. A tawny owl hopped through it and onto the desk, it stuck out its leg. If owls had facial expressions, Kurt was sure she would be glaring at him. He reached out, and Eleanor, now rather grumpy, pecked him harshly on the hand before she allowed him to take the letter.

This time Kurt heard Finn's loud footsteps coming closer, so he made shooing gestures toward Eleanor. The owl eyed the letter on the desk, nipped him again on the ear, and flew out the window. Kurt only got the window halfway closed when Finn walked in.

"Morning dude. It's seven forty-seven. You ready to go?"

Kurt gave Finn a look that clearly stated, _do I look ready?_ Then it registered what Finn had said.

"Oh, Merlin's pants!" He exclaimed, running to his closet.

He didn't even care that Finn was still in the room and hurriedly began throwing on clothes. Somewhere in the middle of it Finn must have taken the hint, because when Kurt turned around he was nowhere in sight.

Running a hand through his hair, Kurt whistled a short melody ( _Lumos_ ) and the tawny owl flew through the window, landing on his outstretched arm. It was as if she knew he was late and was happy about it. He stroked her feathers before setting her down, and picking up his letter. He double checked the envelope to make sure it was sealed properly, then tied it around the owl's leg. The owl spread her wings and was off again; she flew back through the window and out of sight.

Kurt closed the window, then gathered his things and sprinted through the house, Finn hot on his heels. He skidded, grabbing the car door to keep from falling, and flung it open.

"Welcome to teenager-hood, little brother." Finn laughed, buckling his seatbelt.

"Shut up."

* * *

The rest of the day only went downhill from there.

The late-comer traffic at the school was terrible, so he ended up being late and having to park far away from the main entrance. The whole car ride Finn had chatted happily about Glee club and the newest GTV game. They finally separated ways when they got into the school. Kurt got his first tardy in Chemistry, and then had to work by himself on the lab since all of the groups were full.

After third period he had been once again assaulted in the hallway by Karofsky. He was so sick of the bully's behavior that he actually yelled back, earning himself another shove. Mr. Shue saw it and dragged Kurt to his office for a 'heart to heart'. Kurt felt even worse after their little chat. He had slouched into the choir room, prepared to deal with the ridiculous level of testosterone that was the boy's team. So when Mr. Shue had announced that they would be performing songs from their gender counterparts, he instantly perked up.

The New Direction guys were now sprawled out across an empty science classroom, discussing possible ideas; or rather, sitting around staring off into space, waiting for someone to come up with a likeable idea.

Kurt strode through the door and up to the front of the room, several large poster boards under his arm. The other boys didn't even notice his appearance and ignored him while he sat up his presentation.

To get their attention he slapped his pointer against the board with a resounding _smack_. "Now!" Everyone started out of their previous states of boredom. "Obviously for this medley to work, I'm gonna have to sing lead, and of course when you're singing Diana Ross feather boas are a must."

"Isn't this lesson about opposites? I mean, you in a sequined gown and feather boa is exactly what you'd expect." Artie said.

Kurt ignored the thinly veiled insult. "Okay, who said anything about a gown?"

Puck stood up, bouncing a football in his hands. "Uh, dude. Why don't you make yourself useful and go put some rat poison in them old folks' Jello or visit the Garglers?"

"The Warblers." Kurt corrected.

"Whatever. See what they're up to. And you can wear all the feathers you want. You'll blend right in."

"Fine." He didn't even bother putting up a fight, he simply grabbed his things and walked out. Finn and Mike exchange dubious looks, but he ignored it and continued walking without a word.

Fifteen minutes later Kurt found himself at an impasse, parked in a nearby McDonald's while he thought over his options.

Obviously confunding the boys' team into agreeing with him was quickly ruled out, it being illegal and all.

He chewed his thumbnail, a bad habit when he was nervous. His 'Dalton disguise' lay untouched in the passenger seat ready to fulfill its espionage purposes. It wasn't the uniform that was the problem. He could easily dawn the outfit and apparate over to Westerville, where he would sneak into a Warbler rehearsal, gather information, and be home by dinner. Easy. Then when the New Directions learned of what he did he would be praised for his efforts. He could even get a coveted solo out of this.

The problem was that he was sick of playing lackey to the likes of Puck and Rachel, and especially his own step brother. Not to mention getting caught could get his ass kicked - or worse, sued by a bunch of trust fund babies for trespassing.

Flashes of previous conversations with Toni came to mind:

_"Don't let those assholes screw you over around Kurt, you're worth more than that._

_"Remind me again what your dad always says... That's right! Nobody pushes the Hummels around!"_

_"Take charge..."_

_"You're an incredible wizard..."_

Something from that last conversation resurfaced.

_"You can do it. I know that when I come back around tomorrow, you'll be running me into a tizzy with epic spellwork. You're an incredible wizard Kurt. Even kids at Hogwarts have nothing on you!"_

_Hogwarts..._

Like many teenage wizards around the world, Kurt had read every book he could find on the school. Hogwarts was, after all, the most infamous school in all of Europe - hell, the world!

Once a place of grandeur and awe, famous for harboring some of the greatest names of all times, now brought thoughts of sorrow and death. Of course many still saw Hogwarts with reverence, but many were also reluctant to step near the place, let alone send their children there.

In recent years the increase in the number of ghostly residents was a source of great discomfort for those of muggle background. For those of magical heritage, it was the knowledge of the horrors that had once occurred there. Knowing your child was eating in the very same room where the Dark Lord was vanquished was an understandably terrifying thought. It didn't help that the Great Harry Potter's adventures that occurred during his time at the school were now known by the common public. Though many of the hardships that he endured were not helped by Britain's Ministry, often even warranted by them, it was the school that took the criticism. People not only saw it a place of past terrors, but as a possible risk.

Yes, Hogwarts was still certainly a respectable establishment, but it's image was often marred by its dark history.

To Kurt, everything about the school was intriguing, warts and all. The most alluring of them all was the strict equality enforced there. While most magical dwellings tended to be very accepting, Hogwarts went above and beyond to assure that all students, regardless of their ethnicity, blood status, sexual orientation, or disabilities, were treated equally. Naturally not every student would completely adhere to the policy, and not every teacher could stop every single act of bullying. For Kurt the fact that they actually cared and strictly enforced it was a huge deal.

Suddenly Kurt knew his destination.

He turned the keys in the ignition and sped off toward home.

His dad was working at the garage, so there wouldn't be any questions as to why he was home so early or in such a rush. Depending on how late he returned he could hopefully count on Finn for an alibi.

He quickly parked his car in the driveway and ran to his room. The red tie was replaced by a solid black one, a dark grey vest was thrown on over a crisp white button up. Added with black wingtips and black slacks, the outfit made for a decent replica of the Hogwarts uniforms Kurt had seen in pictures of students milling about the grounds. It wasn't perfect but it was good enough to get in and out without any trouble.

Kurt was grateful that they had finally connected their house to the floo network. Now he wouldn't have to drive hours out of the way to Bree, just to use a fireplace there.

He walked into the living room and looked to the kitchen and stairs, making sure he was alone. When he was sure the coast was clear, he grabbed a fist full of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace.

With a cry of, "Hogwarts!" he was sucked into nothingness.

Thousands of miles away Kurt staggered out of another fireplace, covered head to foot in soot. He rubbed some of the ash from his eyes so he could take a look around. He was in an office of sorts. It was empty, except for an old desk and a small window. Kurt dusted of his pants as he walked toward the window. Wherever he was, it was very high above the ground, and it wasn't far from what appeared to be a Quidditch field.

This had to be Hogwarts.

He cautiously opened the door leading out, peaking around before stepping out. The office lead into a classroom of some sort. The vastness of the room did not escape him. It was massive. The room had a high, sloping ceiling, and stone walls that were easily fifty to sixty feet across, and probably half as thick.

"Swanky place." Kurt commented, looking around. It took most of his self-control to not call out echoes like in the movies. Kurt shook his head to clear it of those silly notions.

He headed toward a door on the opposite end of the room. The moment he left the classroom a distant bell chimed, and the sound of hundreds of feet reverberated from all around.

Unbeknownst to Kurt the classroom he had landed in was the Defense class, which luckily had been cancelled... Ten or so years ago. It was away from the main hall so only a few stragglers went past, throwing Kurt curious glances. Kurt twitched nervously at their looks and hurried down the hall. It wasn't long before he found himself on the edge of a very large pack of students clad in black robes. He hadn't really taken a lot of notice to what those few stragglers over by the Defense classroom were wearing, but he sure did now.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

Maybe the outfit wasn't as foolproof as initially planned, Kurt kept thinking as he made us way through another hallway a few hundred feet to the left of the other. This one was significantly emptier, a huge relief to the young man. In the first hallway he came upon, he had stood at the edge watching the students easily blend in to the mass and make their way through. Kurt considered running back to the empty class and flooing home. The idea was instantly shot down. Not only would it be cowardly and stupid, neither of which would ever be used to describe a Hummel, but he knew the odds of finding his way back were very slim. While he internally struggled time seemed to slow down, and it may very well have seeing as the hall wasn't one bit emptier. How many students went here, he wondered.

Kurt clutched his leather bag for emotional support, gritted his teeth, and dove in.

It wasn't so bad, really. There were a billion people invading his personal bubble, but at least it was easy to allow the crowd to drag you. That, and it made his conspicuousness harder to notice among all of the black. Naturally there were a few visually gifted students who noticed him, but they either didn't care or didn't bother to say anything. The rest ignored his presence. A feat, Kurt thought, that would not have been possible at McKinley.

Soon enough he found a hole to slip out of the mass. He was just as, if not more, lost. This new corridor, he noticed, looked more recently built. In the previous ones there had been obscure scorch marks, chunks of stone missing, and the walls looked ancient. That was the only difference between the two, other than that they were practically identical. At least to Kurt anyway.

Many of the students seemed to be going somewhere, or so Kurt thought. He probably would have assumed to class if not for the time. School was almost over in Ohio, so counting the time change, it was definitely after normal school hours in Scotland.

Momentarily forgetting his mission, he allowed himself to follow a small group of Hogwartians down a spiral flight of stairs, curious as to their destination. He was nearing the bottom when he decided to ask someone for directions. He reached out a hand and tapped the nearest person on the shoulder. The boy went down the last step and turned around.

Kurt's breath caught. _I couldn't have asked a girl?_ He thought.

"Oh, excuse me. Um, hi. Can I ask you a question? I'm new here." Kurt said awkwardly.

The boy nodded and smiled. "My name's Blaine."

"Kurt." He shook the boy's - Blaine's hand. "So what exactly is going on?"

Kurt mentally slapped himself. He needed to find a way out, not humiliate himself in front of an attractive boy.

"The Phoenixes!" Excitement shown in Blaine's eyes at their mention.

 _Who?_ Kurt thought.

His confusion must have shown, the boy briefly explained, "Hogwarts show choir. Every now and then they throw an impromptu performance. Tends to shut the school up for a while."

Kurt's mind reeled. "So, wait, the glee club here is kind of cool?" He couldn't help but ask.

"The Phoenixes are like rockstars." Kurt raised a brow. "Come on," Blaine said, taking his hand. "I know a shortcut."

Before he knew it he was being whisked away, by the hand no less. He, Kurt Hummel, was holding hands with the most gorgeous boy he'd ever seen.

The boy pulled him down yet another massive hall to a tapestry. He looked at Blaine curiously. Blaine, however didn't notice, instead he pulled the heavy cloth back to reveal a gaping hole. They went through it and ended up in yet another corridor. They ran down this one.

It was strange. Here it didn't _seem_ like time slowed down, he could literally _feel_ time and space sluggishly pass him by. His feet felt heavy, like he was trudging through honey. His reaction time seemed to be almost nonexistent. Yet at the same time everything else was slowed down as well, including Blaine. It was difficult to explain; it was as though the entire world was going slower... but then if everything was slower that would mean it was relatively still the same. Wouldn't it? Random images of black holes and the space-time continuum surrounded by mathematics and scientific formulas flashed through Kurt's brain, making him dizzy and giving him a headache.

Once they passed out of this strange hallway the lethargic feeling vanished, and the world felt normal again.

What seemed like, and might have been, miles later they finally stopped in front of a bare wall. Kurt would have thought the past five or so minutes very romantic if he hadn't been on the verge of an asthma attack. Hogwarts was huge, much bigger than McKinley. Had he been alone, he would be slumped against the wall wheezing. Since a very attractive boy was still holding his hand he managed to save face and only breathed a little deeper than normal.

When he caught some of his breath back, his thoughts came back to Earth and he started to wonder why Blaine was staring at the wall. This question was immediately answered by a door appearing there. Blaine dropped Kurt's hand, much to his displeasure, and pulled open the door. Inside was a large group of students scattered about a comfortable looking room.

Kurt was way out of place. He was well aware of this, but the realization of how much came crashing down the moment he stepped through the door. It was one thing in the hall when there was at least two hundred people in a very large space, but here with a lot fewer people in small enclosed room changed the game.

"Ooh, I stick out like a sore thumb." He said to himself.

Blaine heard. He reached out to straighten Kurt's shirt collar. "Well, next time, don't forget your robes, new kid. You'll fit right in." Blaine winked, making Kurt tinge pink.

Blaine stepped back. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

He walked to the group of the boys in the background, singing a harmony of 'dum's' and 'oohs and aahs'. Many surged forward to form a line with Blaine, who began to sing.

" _You think I'm pretty without any make up on…"_

Blaine's voice was flawless.

Kurt just stood there and stared, his head spinning. It wasn't only because of the boy either, these Phoenixes were amazing. Their voices meshed in a way Kurt was sure none of the New Directions could ever accomplish. It was both beautiful and terrifying.

He continued watching the performance in amazement.

If Kurt Hummel was a smarter man he would have snuck out while the group was performing, but being a mere mortal, he was much too starstruck to even think about moving. After they finished, again, he might have left. Then there was a window of time were Blaine was being crowded, everyone slapping him on the back and offering compliments, but Kurt remained glued to the same spot, clapping like an idiot. It only occurred to him that he shouldn't be there as Blaine and two other boys, who had also been performing, made their way to him.

"Let's chat." Blaine said with a wink.

Blaine lightly guided Kurt by the elbow away from the crowd. In the corner a table and three chairs appeared out of nowhere. Kurt awkwardly sat down along with the two unknown boys. Blaine walked over to a table holding a number of what appeared to be coffees. The two boys did not speak until he came back over, carrying two of the cups.

He slid one across the table, keeping the other for himself. "Latte?"

Kurt nodded, taking the cup. "Thank you." He said, barely audible.

"This is Wes and David." He indicated the Asian boy on his right, then the black boy on his left.

Blaine nodded, tentatively smiling. Kurt tensed at the way the other two boys were watching him. There was no sign of hostility or aggression in their gazes, more of a polite curiosity. That could change quickly.

"It's very civilised of you to invite me for coffee before you curse me for spying." Kurt went for a light-hearted joke, though there was an underlying tone of sincerity.

"We are not going to curse you." Wes said very seriously.

Kurt had suspected as much. These boys were certainly intimidating, but didn't seem the type to resort to physical violence. He was also protected by Hogwarts's zero tolerance bullying policy, although he wasn't sure if that was extended to people who skipped in through the fireplace.

David added, "You were such a terrible spy, we thought it was sort of endearing."

"Which made me think that spying on us wasn't really the reason you came." Blaine smiled proudly at his own deduction skills.

"Uh..."

"Naturally," Blaine said casually, straightening the sleeve of robes as he spoke. "A school like Hogwarts has been widely sought out, but I think you're the first person to ever actually _pop in_."

Kurt couldn't help the small smile the graced his lips. He may be caught, but the situation clearly wasn't as grave as these dapper boys were pretending to let on. "I'll admit I was a little curious about an actual magic school. And I'd heard a little about Hogwarts... And its stance on bullying." The last part was said very quietly.

"We have a zero tolerance harassment policy." Said Wes.

David added, "Everybody gets treated the same. No matter what they are. It's pretty simple."

Kurt of course was already aware of that fact. However, hearing this aloud, particularly from two total strangers who didn't seem to care about his sexuality, really affected him. He took a shuddery breath.

Blaine tilted his head toward Kurt thoughtfully. "Would you guys excuse us?" He asked, with a pointed look to both of them.

David and Wes shared their own looks, then nodded.

"Take it easy, Kurt." Wes said politely.

Blaine didn't speak until both of them disappeared into crowd that was leaving the room. Then they were the only ones left.

"I take it you're having trouble at school."

"I'm the only person out of the closet at my school... _and_ wizard where I live." He added as an afterthought. "And I tried to stay strong about it, but there's this Neanderthal who's made it his mission to make my life a living hell. And nobody seems to notice." He tried to hold the tears back, but a few escaped the corner of his eye.

"I know how you feel. I got taunted at my old school, and it," Blaine exhaled. "Really pissed me off." He stared off into the distance as though numbly reliving a particularly painful memory. "I even complained about it to the faculty. And they were sympathetic and all, but you could just tell that nobody really cared. It was like, hey, if you're gay, your life's just gonna be miserable. Sorry. Nothing we can do about it. So I left. I came here. Simple as that. So you have two options. I mean, I'd love to tell you to just come enroll here; or to defend yourself, but Scotland's not exactly in your backyard, and then there are secrecy rules. Or you can refuse to be the victim. Prejudice is just ignorance, Kurt. And you have a chance right now to teach him."

"How?"

"Confront him." The Gryffindor shifted in his seat, a determined light in his honey eyes. "Call him out. I ran, Kurt. I didn't stand up. I let bullies chase me away. And it is something that I really, really regret."

Kurt sat in silence mulling this foreign idea over, sipping his latte if only for something to do. Blaine politely waited.

Everything that this boy said made sense. He didn't want to look back at this time in his life in regret, and associate it with bullies taking advantage of him. He always said that things would be different once he made it to New York. The problem was he didn't want things to get better, he wanted them to be better _now._ What if he never made it to the city of his dreams, or worse, what if things were just as bad there? If that were the case, his life would constantly be waiting around for everything to change. Then would he finally be able to make things happen for himself? No. He couldn't - _wouldn't_ wait for things anymore.

This boy who he knew nothing about, other than an unfortunate past, had unknowingly lit a fire in Kurt with just a few carefully chosen words. He wanted to face his bullies, wanted to make them see that they couldn't push him around anymore.

Kurt set the coffee cup down on the table. "I think I should go back home now."

Blaine understood and smiled. "I'll walk you. At least to the nearest exit."

Blaine pretended to fiddle with his robes, conveniently allowing Kurt to surreptitiously wipe his eyes.

They walked out of the now empty mystery room. After the door closed behind them, Kurt looked back but the door was no longer there, only wall. He wondered if that had only been a dream, a very good one. Perhaps he had actually fallen asleep in the boy's meeting and all of this had been his consciences' way of getting through to him. If so, his subconscious was dreamy, Kurt thought watching Blaine of course of his eye.

The pair walked side by side in companionable silence for a time. During this moment of quiet Kurt attempted to memorize their route or at least recognize something from his earlier journey.

Down the corridor, left, down three flights of stairs, right down yet another corridor, left, another right... nothing was even remotely recognizable, everything looked so similar.

Kurt was insanely lucky that he had a guide. If everything had gone to plan this trip still would have been a disaster. He likely would have died in this maze of a school. He had always wondered how kids at boarding school's like this got any real exercise, now he figured it must be all the walking in between classes. Hogwarts was massive. How long had they been walking? It couldn't have been that long, but his feet sore getting sore.

"How did you get in here?" Blaine asked curiously, breaking Kurt out of an inner monologue on the importance of tennis shoes when walking for prolonged amounts of time.

"Hogsmeade?" Blaine guessed. "I didn't think anyone knew about the secret passages." The last part was more muttered to himself.

Kurt thought back. "I came in through a... I think it was classroom. It looked kind of abandoned."

"Ah." Blaine nodded. "That would probably be the abandoned Defense classroom." Kurt gave him a curious look so he elaborated, "The teachers always made complaints about it being drafty, but I think it's the rumors about it being cursed."

"There seem to be a lot of those regarding this school." Kurt mused.

Blaine wasn't so easily deflected by his attempt to change the subject. He smiled at Kurt knowingly and said, "That still doesn't explain how you got in."

"The floo network. I requested Hogwarts and I saw an open grate so I went through it."

"I should probably inform the headmistress so we can prevent unwanted guests in the future."

Kurt had the humility to look mildly ashamed. He stared at the floor. "That would be the responsible thing."

"But then I wouldn't get to see you anymore, and that would be a pity, because I really would like to see you again."

Kurt's head shot up.

 _Oh_.

Blaine's ears tinged pink. "I know how that must sound,"

 _Please mean how it sounds,_ his heart screamed.

"But I like you and once the rest of the group inevitably hear about this they'll be _dying_ to meet you."

"If they're half as charming the three I've already met, I assure you the feeling is mutual."

Blaine beamed at him.

"Your Hogwarts uniform is excellent by the way. The only thing you're missing is the robe," Blaine added, "But I don't think it's been required to wear those since like, 2007."

"If it wasn't the outfit, then what gave me away?" Kurt asked curiously.

"Other than the fact that I haven't seen a first year so lost? Your accent betrays you." Blaine said in a posh British accent. "If you were new, particularly a transfer from America, as a prefect and Wes as Head Boy, we would know about any new students in our house."

"And what house would that be?"

"Gryffindor." Blaine answered pridefully, puffing out his chest.

Kurt noticed the red and gold crest embroidered into the left side of Blaine's robes. He did vaguely remember the other boys that were wearing robes had different crests on them.

"Only a true Gryffindor would be stupid or brave enough to actually break into Hogwarts." Blaine nudged him playfully.

Kurt was kind of, really loving this school. He had been touched countless times that day, by many different people, and it was actually... Pleasant.

"And here I was thinking that it wasn't that big of a deal." Kurt replied.

"Oh, it's a big deal alright. You might even go down in Hogwarts legend if you're lucky."

"I'll cross my fingers."

They stopped at a door that Kurt really wanted to say he remembered.

"Here we are." Blaine said, opening it. "Since this is the only way out that I know of, I suppose you'll be leaving the way you came."

Kurt stepped through and walked across the room to the office, where the door was still open from earlier. Blaine followed after him. Inside the office, Kurt was grateful to see that there was half a cup of floo powder sitting on the desk.

"Kurt?"

Kurt spun around. "Yeah?"

"I meant what I said before. I like you and the others wouldn't be too happy if they never got to meet you. I don't suppose we'll see each other again?"

"Maybe..." Kurt almost slapped himself for saying that, but Blaine was smiling so he couldn't have embarrassed himself too badly. "Or I could tell you where to owl me?"

"That would be very helpful."

Kurt held out his hand. "Kurt Hummel. Lima, Ohio."

Blaine's eyes definitely lit up. He took Kurt's hand and shook it. "Blaine Anderson. Gryffindor tower, Hogwarts."

Kurt let go reluctantly and grabbed a handful of floo powder, then stepped into the fireplace. He wasn't quite sure what to say to Blaine now. This _was_ goodbye after all. Was 'I'll see you later' too presumptuous?

He eventually settled on, "Have a nice day, Blaine."

Kurt winced. Why couldn't he just say goodbye like everyone else?

"Have a nice day," Blaine mimicked, his lips twitching. "Kurt."

"Lima, Ohio, the Hummel's!"

* * *

When Kurt landed back in Lima he actually did slap himself.

It wasn't because he potentially embarrassed himself countless times today, or because he needed to know if this really happened... No, he slapped himself because he had just flooed into his house. The same house he shared with an unknowing Finn and Carole Hudson. Had they seen him pop out of nowhere, or even Burt who had not been informed of any impromptu trips to Scotland, he would be in big trouble.

"Where the hell were you?" A raspy voice demanded.

Kurt started violently and smacked his head against the top of the bricks. He stumbled out of the fireplace, clutching his head and chest. He ended up tripping over the carpet and fell, landing at a pair of combat boots he himself had picked out.

"Merlin's beard stumbles, you're an even bigger clutz than when I left." Toni took pity on him and helped him to his feet, dusting him off harshly.

"What do you think you're doing popping out of thin air, Kurt? That's not responsible."

"I went to Bree." Kurt lied. "For ink."

"And the ink is?"

"I, um, forgot to buy it. I was distracted."

Toni huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Your dad and Carole went out to eat, and Daffy the friendly giant went to that loud, annoying girl's house. You are so lucky mister. I came here to surprise you, before your parents left. I didn't know you were gone so Finn had to make up an alibi. You owe that boy one hell of a solid."

"Have you been hanging out with Santana in your spare time?" Kurt deflected.

Toni crossed her arms. "I know you weren't spying on a rival glee club because: A, I saw you using the floo network, very irresponsibly I might add, and B, you couldn't sneak up on Mad-Eye Moody's blind and deaf squib brother. So would you mind telling me where you really were?" The more she spoke, the rougher her voice became. She looked peaky and was obviously not fully recovered from her illness.

Kurt shook his head, then quickly walked up stairs and called behind him, "Go home and get rest! You're still sick!" He was already in his room when Toni thundered halfway up the stairs.

"If you're hoping that I'll drop it because I think you were out buying me something or planning a party for our anniversary, I wouldn't hold my breath!" She called.

The second Kurt's door closed a tiny piece of neatly folded parchment appeared out of nowhere. Kurt curiously grabbed it from where it floated in mid air and unfolded it. Written in big black letters took up the whole space. The handwriting was unfamiliar, yet he knew it was from Blaine.

 _COURAGE,_ it read.

* * *

_Courage._

Kurt beamed as though this was the first message he'd received today and not the seventh.

This note was written on parchment cut into a squiggly. The letters were written in an elegant emerald calligraphy, little confetti shapes dotted all around the script. It was stowed in an empty pencil bag with the others. Maybe he would make a collage out of them if he got enough.

All throughout the day random little words of courage (literally) continued cropping up. The second one had come in the morning by an unknown owl. The moment the parchment was removed from the owl's leg it had shot out the window and was gone.

The others so far had magically appeared out of thin air much like the first. All of them were decorated and written differently, and each one put a smile on his face and caused his stomach to flip pleasantly.

Everyone else had noticed this sudden shift in his attitude, not that he'd had a terrible attitude before, he was just much happier and less anxious. In the car he had actually participated in the glee conversation with Finn. Then when Finn began a tirade on his Call of Duty game the previous night Kurt politely listened. At his locker when Rachel talked endlessly about her plans for the regionals they had yet to make it to, he wasn't once short with her and was only minimally sarcastic. Mercedes had been the first to actually say anything.

"I'm just in a good mood is all." He shrugged when Mercedes inquired about his cheerful disposition. She looked at him suspiciously after that.

It was the way everyone was reacting to his newfound optimism that really made him realize how down he'd been lately, then he felt guilty for the way he acted sometimes. It was wrong but it was hard not lash out whenever it felt like everything was going wrong. He made a vow to try to stop doing that lest he became a bully himself. Those things were such a viscous cycle that were easy to get sucked into.

Speaking of bullies, Karofsky passed by and slammed Kurt against the lockers forcefully, much more so than usual. Kurt was caught off guard and went falling to the floor while Karofsky walked off.

* * *

Kurt stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. It wasn't a pretty sight. Tears pooled in the corners of his eyes causing his vision to blur and his eyelids to puff up; they dried uncomfortably on his cheeks making the skin tighten and sting from the saltiness. His hair was mussed up from nervous hands running through it often. His lips were raw and cracked from vigorously rubbing them with a wet rag. Even now half an hour after the initial breakdown he still had the cloth running across his mouth.

 _Confront him_. A little voice in his head had said.

Normally he ignored that voice in his mind that told him to stand up for himself, actually defend himself rather than verbally spar his bullies with a sharp witted tongue. It was easier to hide behind sarcasm and snark. Not today. He'd had enough. Which was why he had picked himself up, and completely disregarding his broken phone lying on the ground, he ran after the Karofosky. Within seconds he was hot on the jock's heels, bursting into the boy's locker where Dave had retreated.

After that kiss was stolen Kurt had stayed behind until Puck walked in and stared at him until he too left. He didn't see Dave after that. The rest of his classes and glee club came and went, he was so shocked the day flew by quickly. It wasn't until he was home that the shock wore off and the panic set in, hitting him like a freight train. A minor anxiety attack lead him to where he was now.

Looking at his reflection was depressing. It showed how far he'd fallen since this morning right in his face.

Kurt wadded up some toilet paper and wiped his nose, then ran his face under ice cold water. Once all of the snot was gone and the blotchiness went down he finally left the bathroom and went to his room.

It wasn't so bad because he now held his bully's greatest secret, or that he lost his first kiss from a boy, but because of the fear and the uncertainty of what was to come. Would Dave leave him alone now? Would he be worse than ever? Kurt desperately wished that both of them could forget about the incident. It was a fool's hope, but the alternative was terrifying.

The only thing he was sure of at the moment was that he absolutely could not tell anybody about this. The adults in his life would take this to the school. The glee club members couldn't keep this to themselves and would insist he tell the adults. What he needed was a friend that he could just talk to about this, someone that would listen and keep his secrets; or at least if they told anyone it wouldn't matter...

A series of _T_ _aps_ resounded then was followed by a piercing _screech!_

Outside of the window the owl from that morning perched on the sill, and behind it Tony's owl Eleanor was staring at it intently as though glaring. Kurt opened the window and, who he presumed was Blaine's owl hopped in, followed by Eleanor who limped in. The first owl had an actual letter tied to her leg.

The first paragraph indeed clarified who the owner of this owl was.

_Kurt,_

_I hope you received the many letters - I spent much of last night printing them out by hand. Only when Wes appeared did I realize magic was the speedier method. As a word of precaution_ _, do be wary of Minerva - the owl - she can be temperamental._

_How are you? How did everything go with the boy who was giving you a difficult time?_

Kurt's stomach dropped at the reminder, then he was thoughtful. He pulled out a parchment and ink and wrote out a quick letter.

* * *

"Thad, the dragon would win." Nick insisted for the hundredth time.

Thad looked disheartened. "Fine." He grumbled. "What about poltergeist versus pixie?"

Nick sighed and rubbed his temple. "Thad."

"What? It's a justifiable question!"

This was Thad and Nick's usual argument before classes: Which magical creature would be victorious in a battle. Sometimes they would start bets or other students would join. Blaine trailed behind them, indifferently listening to them have at it. He was just glad that they came from magical families and had no idea what Pokémon was. That was something Blaine just wasn't prepared to deal with.

They turned the corner. Liam Omsen saw them and joined the group.

"Intense facial expressions, suggesting hostility." Liam noted. "What are these two arguing about now?"

"Pixie versus poltergeist." Blaine answered monotonously.

Liam's face lit up, something Blaine was wary of. "You know Hagrid just found a village of pixies on the edge of the forest..."

Nick and Thad stopped arguing and looked at Liam.

"We're listening."

As a prefect Blaine's sense of duty mixed with his loyalty to his friends told him to stop listening now before he heard something consequential. He tuned them out, choosing to count the cracks on the wall to pass the time. The other three paid no mind to him as they planned out an illegal cage match between Peeves and some forest pixies.

Thirty-two. Thirty-three. Thirty-four... Fifty-six...

He mentally tallied over a hundred then lost count, all before they finally neared the History of Magic classroom.

Across from the room, Blaine noticed a window where an owl was insistently pecking on the glass. While the others walked into class he diverged from the group, watching the creature curiously. It did not look familiar; then again, he couldn't expect to remember every owl that Hogwarts housed. Regardless, he decided to put the poor thing out of its misery, and hastened to allow it in. The creature hooted appreciatively as it hopped in. Blaine stroked its feathers, in response the owl presented its leg to him. He curiously untied the letter. The front of the envelope read _Blaine Anderson_ in a nice, albeit shaky scrawl. Before he could even find out who the sender was, the owl flew away. Blaine carefully pulled out the letter and unfolded it.

 _This is from Kurt Hummel._ The letter said bluntly. _I'm sending this letter with my friends' owl, Eleanor, not my own. I did get your letters. Thank you so much. Your owl Minerva is beautiful._

Something was off. The sentences were short and choppy; the handwriting was blotted and unsteady, as though the writer's hand had been trembling as he wrote. This worried Blaine. He looked back down at the parchment. Near the bottom there were several blotches where the ink smeared and the material beneath was disturbed. He lightly trailed his fingers across the parchment. It was either water stains or Kurt was crying while he wrote. Blaine apprehensively continued.

_I... I did confront Karofsy - the one who's been giving me trouble. I hate to dump all of this on you, but I don't know what else to do. Yesterday I followed him to the locker room and I confronted him, and we started yelling. Then he kissed me._

That had not been what he was expecting. First seeing the handwriting he had been apprehensive of conflict, or possibly a physical attack. A closeted jock had certainly never crossed his mind, but in hindsight it wasn't all that much of a shocking turn of events.

_I know I'm overreacting but I'm so confused and I don't know what to do. He didn't mess with me, or even acknowledge me the rest of the day, but it's only a matter of time. I just don't know what to do or how to act. I only hope he's too ashamed of his actions to come near me until I can figure this out. I'm sorry, is there some way we could talk? I just need to talk about this._

_Bloody hell!_ It had been nearly a full day since this had happened to Kurt!

Even if there was no way the owl could have flown any faster, and no way he could have known, he felt guilty for not being there immediately, but more importantly responsible for this happening at all. It had been his advice that caused Kurt to confront this boy, which put him in a position of danger. Living in such a safe place like Hogwarts sometimes made him forget how dangerous these situations could be, particularly when magic couldn't be used as a last resort. He needed to make up for this somehow.

Blaine barely glanced toward the classroom where Binn's was likely already droning on, and sprinted down the corridor.

* * *

The dismissal bell rang and the McKinley halls flooded with students, Kurt among them.

Today he was dressed in black jeans, a plain t-shirt underneath a blue button up coat, and a grey and black circle scarf. He hadn't been feeling up to extravagant accessories or tight clothes when he dressed himself and was also hoping to just blend in with everyone else today. He kept his head down and spoke very little. He was lucky that Karofsky was nowhere to be seen. The jock was probably keeping a low profile as well. Kurt remained wary, knowing how quickly that could change. It was a pity that he had to spend his 'day off', so to speak, watching his back rather than enjoy it.

Right now Kurt had first lunch so he was headed to the cafeteria to meet up with Mercedes.

On the way down the math hall where the crowd was much thinner was where he saw _him._

A strange, yet familiar boy strolled down the hall with his hands in his pockets, taking in his surroundings curiously. From the back Kurt could see the he boy had on a bright red sweater, cuffed dark blue skinny jeans, and deck shoes to match the pants. His dark hair was gelled down and he carried a leather messenger bag.

Normally Kurt would have ignored some new kid. Whether it be from his recent experiences as the lost 'new kid', the unknown familiarity, or the odd clothes this boy wore, he couldn't look away. Against his better judgment he wandered closer. The boy abruptly looked behind him, directly at Kurt. Kurt quickly averted his eyes out of habit, he'd undoubtedly been caught staring. He pretended to be looking at a bulletin board and could _feel_ the boy's eyes on him. A brief glance up told him that the guy was indeed staring at him and...

"Blaine?" He asked.

Blaine Anderson slowly walked toward him, he looked as dapper as ever if not a little disheveled. There was dark ash clinging to his cardigan soiling it along with traces of green powder. Floo powder.

"Your owl arrived only an hour ago, I came as soon as I read it." Blaine said quickly.

Kurt didn't have a clue why Blaine was talking about birds, but he at least got the gist of it and understood Blaine was here because of him. He immediately began rambling, "Oh my - You really didn't have to. It's ten on a - You should be at school! I'm not-"

"Kurt, relax." Blaine placed a hand on either side of his shoulders, a soothing gesture. "It's fine, and don't worry about school. Time difference remember?"

"Yes, but-"

Blaine cut him off. "Are you okay?"

Kurt was confused for a minute, wondering again what he was talking about.

"After the Karofsky issue?" He clarified.

It took a second to figure out how Blaine knew about the kiss in the locker room. Then it hit him... the letter. He had completely forgot that he even owled Blaine, he'd been so emotionally distressed when he wrote him. After finishing the rest of Blaine's letter, which was light and funny, he'd calmed down significantly. Now he felt foolish for dumping his problems on this boy.

Kurt blushed and looked down at his feet. "Oh, um..."

"Hey, It's okay. I came here to help you. I thought that we could speak to this guy. It's obvious that he's struggling with himself, and we should let him know that he's not alone."

If he were being honest, he really didn't care about Karofsky's identity issues and after yesterday he certainly didn't want to be anywhere near the boy. If it were anyone else Kurt wouldn't hesitate in saying no. However this was Blaine, the boy that helped _him_ , a total stranger, more than once; that didn't turn him in for trespassing, who was sweet and was currently wearing the most optimistic expression.

Kurt sighed. "I doubt it will work, but I suppose it's worth a shot."

"I won't let him hurt you this time, I promise." Blaine said sincerely.

"Thank you for coming." Kurt said in a small voice.

Blaine looked around at the many passing students, interest alight in his eyes. "Come on, let's go find this bully."

Together they walked across the courtyard toward the stairs. Kurt had seen Karofsky walk this way to class many times. Part of him hoped that he was mistaken, or since he had yet to see the jock he wasn't even at school. The braver side of him wanted to get this dealt with now. Most of all he didn't want Blaine to see him as a waste of time, and would hate to have had the boy come all the way out here for nothing.

Kurt clutched his bag tightly. "Thanks for coming again."

"Don't worry about it, just let me do the talking."

They walked around the corner and Karofsky was there at the top of the stairs

"There he is." Kurt whispered.

"I got your back." Blaine told him, then said loudly, "Excuse me."

They stopped right in front of Karofsky, blocking his path. He looked between the two.

"Hey, ladyboys. This your boyfriend, Kurt?" He scoffed.

Kurt's cheeks heated up and his heart pounded, but he refused to look away. Refused to back down.

"Kurt and I would like to talk to you about something." Blaine said tactfully.

Karofsky gave a good tough act, sneering and scoffing at them, but Kurt noted the faintest sign of fear in his eyes. Hopefully it would be enough to keep him from doing anything regrettable.

"I gotta go to class." Karofsky pushed past them, shoving Kurt against the railing for good measure.

In a desperate attempt to not let him get away so easily, what Blaine said next was not so prudent. "Kurt told me what you did." Blaine clearly wasn't thinking about the consequences when he just went for it like that. For him this would be one of those moments where he would look back at night and cringe. Which was what Kurt was doing now.

Karofsky slowly spun around. "Oh, yeah? What's that?" He asked nonchalantly.

"You kissed me."

Dave glanced around nervously."I don't know what you're talking about."

"It seems like you might be a little confused. And that's totally normal." Blaine spoke very diplomatically, his voice even and sure. Karofsky began walking away. "This is a very hard thing to come to terms with, and you should just know that you're not alone."

The jock froze, then darted back up the steps heading straight for Blaine. "Do not mess with me!" He snarled, pushing the Gryffindor against the railing. Blaine held his hands up defensively, more of a gesture of peace than submission. Blaine didn't even look affected by the situation at all, the only reason Kurt knew this to be false was the way his jaw was working furiously.

Kurt rushed forward and pushed the jock away from Blaine with all his might. "You have to stop this!"

Karofsky stumbled backward, catching himself before he could fall. A group of students passed, not even throwing so much as a curious glance their way.

"Pfft, whatever." Karofsky cast one last disgusted look between the other two boys and then turned on his heel and stalked off.

Kurt let out the breath he'd been holding and dropped onto the stairs.

This was awful. He had only meant to confront his bullies and now he had gotten Blaine stuck in the middle of this! He probably wouldn't even want to be his friend anymore, not after this. If he were paying attention, he would have noticed that Blaine couldn't care less that he had just been physically harassed. Blaine's mind was more focused on how he could make this okay.

Blaine leaned back against the railing. His eyes traveled upward in thought along with his triangular eyebrows.

"Well, he's not coming out any time soon." Blaine joked weakly, dusting himself off and adjusting his blazer. Noticing the look on Kurt's face all traces of humor disappeared. "What's going on? Why are you so upset?" He moved to sit next to Kurt.

Kurt closed his eyes and drew in a shaky breath. "Because until yesterday, I had never been kissed. Or at least, one that counted." He admitted. His ears turned a deep red. He probably shouldn't feel ashamed to admit that since there obviously wouldn't be much to choose from in a place like Lima. He just felt disgusting and violated.

Blaine pressed his lips together as he thought of how to make this better. This situation was a first for him. So he did what he always did to make his friends feel better, "Come on. I'll buy you lunch."

Blaine took him to the parking lot. They walked all the way to the back where the only available parking spots were and stopped in front of a vintage convertible. To Kurt's surprise Blaine pulled out car keys. There were so many things he wanted to ask this strange boy but he held his tongue. Blaine unlocked the car and got in, indicating Kurt do the same. Neither said anything until the school was out of sight.

"Do you need to talk about it?" Blaine asked, his eyes shifting between the road and Kurt.

Kurt looked down at his lap and fiddled with fingers. "I don't know. I feel like I'm making this a bigger deal than it really is, but I just feel lost. What do I do next?" He looked to the boy who seemingly had all of the answers.

Blaine sighed. "I'd like to tell you exactly what to do, but I don't know either. I've had my fair share of bullies and closet cases, but I've never had to deal with anyone who was both. I'm not sure what one _can_ do in this situation."

"Then give me general advice, at this point I'll take anything."

Blaine chuckled. "Okay, _generally_ with people still in the closet, there isn't much you can do besides support them or out them I suppose,"

Kurt shook his head emphatically, staring back down again. Over the past day he'd thought hard on this. It would probably be the easy way out but it was wrong and he wouldn't go that far. "I won't ever do that."

They came up on a red-light and stopped. Kurt looked up at Blaine who was watching him almost reverently. Instead of blushing and looking away he held Blaine's gaze. Blaine finally smiled, then the light turned green and he had to turn back to the road.

The Gryffindor cleared his throat. "Okay, then there really isn't much you could do for Karofsky, unless you want to try reaching out again."

"I won't out him, but I don't think I'm there yet."

Blaine nodded understandingly. "So then you treat him like a bully. I suggest staying away from him or if you can't, avoid being alone with him." His face turned serious. "I understand that you don't want to tell anyone about the kiss and I get that the school won't do much for playground bullying, but if he ever threatens your safety Kurt I want you to promise me that you will tell somebody. Me at least."

Kurt nodded, then was quickly pulled back into his own head. His mind was plagued by doubt and worry, then by the _what if's_ and uncertainty.

"Why is this so frustrating!" He blurted out.

"What is?"

Kurt didn't answer immediately. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the head rest, trying to calm the war raging inside of himself. Blaine sensed his distress. He pulled into the nearest parking lot, which happened to be that of an old K-Mart, now empty.

"Blaine I'm a gay muggle-born wizard living in Muggleville, Ohio, I can't take it anymore. I've accepted that I'm gay and I can't change it, but maybe I should just renounce my magic or something."

Blaine's eyes widened. "Kurt, please don't say that. I - I know it's hard but things will get better I promise."

"How do you know?" He snapped. He immediately regretted it. Blaine was being nothing but honest and patient with him, it wasn't Blaine's fault Kurt was having such a bad time.

Kurt took a deep, calming breath. "I'm sorry. I just - I - I don't want things to _get_ better, I want them to _be_ better."

"Kurt, I was in the same place a few years ago. My father knew about the Wizarding World, as my mother's family was part of it, but he didn't understand it. My mother is a squib, she had to tell him about magic when my brother came along. My father thought that you could renounce your magic, he thought that my mother just gave it up. He never explicitly said anything, but I know he wanted me to do the same. Sometimes I even considered it. Eventually they got me a tutor. I never thought I could actually be a functioning part of any magical society. Now, I'm really glad I didn't give up."

Kurt didn't know how much of Blaine's story was common knowledge, but he was grateful to know it, that Blaine trusted him share it.

"It just sucks. I mean it's been so much easier since I told my dad, but no one else knows. If I didn't have to hide I could've defended myself. I had my wand!"

"It won't be like that forever, when you grow up you can join the Wizarding World and be amazing."

"But what if I can't? My only exposure is limited. What if I can't assimilate and I just don't fit in anywhere?"

"Hmm." Blaine paused on thought. It was awhile before he said anything or came to any sudden revelations, so Kurt worried hat he had finally stumped his new friend. He was beginning to grow anxious when Blaine said, "Then I guess we'll just have to fix that. Half a moment." Blaine stretched out so that he could reach into his pocket. He pulled a galleon from it. Silence filled the car while Kurt got lost in his thoughts and Blaine fiddled with the gold coin. He appeared to be reading its surface. "Oh good!" He exclaimed.

"What's that?" Kurt tried to get a closer look at the coin but it was already being tucked away.

"I've just thought of the perfect lunch spot." The Gryffindor grinned, and started the car again.

Kurt had the foresight to send a quick text to Finn telling him to drive Kurt's car home. He had taken Finn to school again, and Finn had a spare key so he would be able to get himself home alright.

After a bit of driving Blaine finally pulled into what looked like an ordinary bar. Kurt eyed his companion doubtfully as they walked toward the entrance. If Blaine noticed he gave no indication, remaining cheerful and smiley. Blaine lead him by the hand into the dingy bar, stopping in front of a fireplace. Evidently this was a wizard bar, or it at least had floo connections. Kurt went with the former, noting a hag in the corner drinking something bright pink. Kurt turned his attention back to Blaine, giving him a curious look.

"Do you trust me?" Blaine asked.

"Should I not?"

Blaine laughed. "I'm taking you to Hogsmeade, the Hog's Head to be exact. It's right outside the school."

Blaine made an after you gesture. Kurt stepped into the fireplace and accepted the floo powder.

"Hogs Head!" Kurt said and was engulfed by the flames.

Second later In Hogsmeade a teenage boy popped out of a grimy fireplace. Kurt, coughing loudly, stumbled out of the grate and into an even dingier looking pub. The bar ten feet away was empty and there were only a handful of people scattered around. Soon Blaine popped out and brushed himself off.

"Come on." Blaine grabbed his hand again and led him out.

Outside was very similar to Bree with the exception of many students wearing Hogwarts uniforms. Obviously they weren't far from the school. Kurt looked up and his breath caught, sure enough an enormous castle stood tall against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains and a great lake.

"Is that Hogwarts?" Kurt asked breathlessly.

"Yep. Amazing isn't it?"

"In all the years I've known about magic I never thought it would actually be this - magical."

"I know what you mean. I still take walks around the grounds and get awestruck."

Blaine allowed Kurt a moment to stare at the beautiful castle.

"So where's this lunch I've been promised?" Kurt finally asked.

Blaine tugged him into another pub called the Three Broomsticks. The atmosphere was much livelier than the first. Many students were chattering merrily with friends, sipping delicious looking drinks and munching on candy from the nearby sweets shop.

"I was going to meet some friends here, I think you've already met a few."

Near the back a particularly rowdy group of boys sat at a booth around a circular table. All of them were sipping some golden liquid from kegs.

"Oy! Blaine!" One of the blondes called.

Blaine lead Kurt over to the table

"Hey guys." Blaine took a seat next to David and motioned Kurt to sit.

Kurt took the seat beside Blaine on the booth.

"This is Kurt Hummel."

"Ah, so this is the infamous spy." A boy with dirty blonde hair and a crooked smile said, exchanging a look with the others.

The two boys sitting on the left, outside end of the semicircle, grinned at one another, then stood up and sat down next Kurt, forcing the others to scoot over to make more room. Kurt moved as well, but the boy beside him, a different blonde than the one who had called them over, stayed pressed up close, his face invading Kurt's personal bubble.

"I'm Jeff." The blonde introduced himself.

Kurt looked uncomfortable.

"Relax," Jeff said. "We don't care much. Well other than the fact that you, my friend," he wrapped his left arm around Kurt. "Were the first to penetrate the impenetrable Hogwarts since the dark days." Jeff pulled his wand out and waved it above himself, conjuring a top hat that landed on his head. "To you, I take my hat off." He did so with a flourish.

The brunette on the Jeff's right rolled his eyes. He stretched behind Jeff and tugged his arm off Kurt, then kept his own arm around Jeff's shoulders

"Don't mind him. He's one for theatrics. I'm Nick." The brunette boy reached over Jeff with his free hand and shook Kurt's.

Blaine rolled his eyes at the pair. "So you've met these two... You already know David," Kurt nodded. "And the other blonde - next to David - is Oliver."

Oliver waved. "God dag. Vad trevligt att träffas."

David playfully shoved the boy. "Ignore him. He just likes to show off what little Swedish he knows."

"Where's Wes?" Blaine asked, looking around.

"He's off with his girlfriend."

"And you aren't?"

David shook his head. "I'd much rather hang out with _you_ Blaine." He said this teasingly, but also threw Blaine a _'we're talking later'_ look that Kurt didn't catch.

"Aww, I'm touched."

Blaine left the table to get he and Kurt something to eat. The other three - Nick, Oliver, and Jeff - continued their previous conversation about an incident that happened at the school last week. Kurt listened in complete fascination, every now and again interrupting to ask a question. The boys were incredibly nice to him and seemed like a decent lot. Kurt quickly forgot about the Karofsky incident and enjoyed himself. All too quickly Blaine was insisting that Kurt should get back to Ohio, much to the chagrin of both Kurt and the Hogwarts boys.

Nick and Jeff reluctantly slid off the booth so that Kurt and Blaine could get out.

As soon as Kurt stood up Jeff wrapped him in a tight hug, once Kurt got over the initial shock he awkwardly patted the blonde's back.

"Remember the name Jeff, Jeff Sterling. I expect to hear from you." Jeff said sternly, stepping back.

David, Oliver, and Nick all soon his hand and said goodbye, much less dramatically, and then Blaine was leading Kurt toward to the door.

"My friends." Blaine chuckled once they were out of the pub.

"You're lucky to have them, they're great." Kurt said honestly.

Blaine smiled. "Yeah, overwhelming from time to time, but I love them to death... sometimes literally."

"I can see where you might want to with Oliver."

Blaine snorted. "And he's the tame one."

Kurt quirked his eyebrows.

"He has a twin brother, Liam." Blaine explained.

"And where was he? Don't twins like, always follow each other around?"

"Not necessarily. And these two have a rather, er, unique dynamic. Besides, I'm pretty sure Liam is serving community service in the Great Hall. Apparently we have him to thank for having today off."

"I think I'll wait to hear about that story."

Kurt pulled his light jacket around himself tighter. For September it was very chilly there, even for that time in the evening. Kurt internally groaned, he had been trying not to think of the time. He would deal with the consequences later.

"Anyway," Blaine said, breaking the silence. "The guys seemed to really like you."

Kurt couldn't keep the broad grin from lighting up his face. "Really?"

"I suspect if I weren't a prefect and Wes wasn't Head boy, they'd kidnap you and have you live at Hogwarts."

Kurt stared at the castle wistfully. "I don't think I could really complain about that."

"Until you actually live there. It looks like a beautiful magic castle on the outside, don't let it trick you. It can be a nightmare." Blaine was thoughtful, "Though I guess it's nothing to the way it was about fifteen years ago."

"What happened?" Naturally he, along with the rest of the Magical World, had read the stories about the Wizarding Wars, and knew bits and pieces of what got out about Harry's time at the school, but Blaine made it seem like they were missing something.

Blaine looked at Kurt. "I'd forgotten how little Wizarding America really knows about the War, especially for someone who didn't grow up in it."

"I guess I'll have to visit again, if only to hear more stories." He pretended to sigh.

Blaine playfully swatted him. "I'll tell the guys you're only in it for the secrets."

Kurt held the Hog's Head for open for Blaine, then walked through himself. They stopped in front of the fireplace

"Well I guess -"

"Don't even think about it Kurt. I'm coming with you."

Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look. Taking you back home is the gentlemanly thing to do."

* * *

It probably would have been much simpler for Kurt to floo directly back to his house from Hogsmeade, but then he would run the risk of his family seeing him appear from the fireplace. Besides he really liked spending time with Blaine and he wasn't about to intentionally end their time together.

The ride from the bar to Lima was fun. They ended the serious, sad talk for the time being and enjoyed themselves. Kurt learned that along with their shared bully experiences and sexuality they had so much more in common. At first Blaine allowed Kurt to look through his iPod for music, a huge sign of trust in Kurt's book. Kurt was then pleasantly surprised to see the music selection; Patti LuPone, Barbara Streisand, the Rent soundtrack, West Side Story, then some more popular tunes such as Brittany Spears, Katy Perry, and P!nk.

The song Kurt chose somehow sparked a debate on how Les Misérables as a movie would compare to the play, which in turn prompted a discussion on actors who would be good for certain roles. Each topic quickly led to more. They continued on like this for the rest of the ride.

Too quickly for his liking they were pulling into Kurt's driveway.

"Sorry about missing school." Blaine said sincerely. "I always forget the time changes."

"It's okay. I had a lot of fun today. Thank you Blaine."

"No problem."

Kurt took that as his queue to leave, he sadly unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.

Today had been one of the greatest days of his life. He got to meet actual teenage wizards. Before he'd seen plenty in Bree, but had never had the opportunity to actually talk to them. Getting to just look at Hogwarts was enough, he could truly die happy now. He was sad to see the day and Blaine go. Sure they talked and joked about meeting up in the future, but now he realized how unrealistic all of that seemed.

"I'm sorry about the inconvenience."

"It's really not a problem." Blaine said sternly. "Besides, I might get to see my parents when I go to Westerville to drop the car off."

"Westerville?"

"I never mentioned that? I live in Ohio, only about two hours from here."

Kurt's mouth dropped open. "Really?"

Blaine nodded.

Kurt really shouldn't have been as surprised as he was. It hadn't even crossed his mind all day why Blaine seemed so familiar with Ohio. That would explain how Blaine had a car and his American accent.

"I'll see you later Kurt."

Kurt whispered back, "See you later Blaine."

He shut the car door and walked up the driveway, turning back to wave farewell. Blaine waved back with a huge grin, then pulled out and was gone.

A girly, happy squeal threatened to erupt from Kurt's mouth. He had just spent the day with the most dreamy, nicest, funniest wizard and his friends from Hogwarts, and there was a very real possibility that he would be seeing him again.

Kurt walked through the front door in such a daze, he didn't even notice his father waiting for him until he cleared his throat loudly making Kurt start.

"Oh. Hello, father."

"Uh huh." Burt crossed his arms, a signal Kurt knew, that meant he was serious. "Care to tell me where you've been? School's been over for over an hour, and before you try to use glee club as an excuse Finn said it was cancelled."

"How do you know I didn't go out with Mercedes?"

"Because she called asking for you."

"She would've called my cellphone."

"It doesn't matter. This is the second time you've disappeared this week."

"I could have been with Rachel." Kurt mumbled.

" _Kurt_." Burt said warningly.

"I went out to eat with a friend."

"Which friend?" His father pressed.

"You don't know Blaine." Kurt said quickly.

"Blaine?"

* * *

_"WOOH!"_

Eighty-five miles per hour.

At that speed Blaine would arrive in Westerville just before six, nearly eleven o'clock Scottish time. There was no way he would make it back to school before curfew, but if he hurried he might be able to get back to Gryffindor tower before midnight.

Blaine felt a bit like Cinderella, having to be home before midnight. His car wouldn't turn into a vegetablele at midnight, but if Wes caught him, _he_ might be transformed into a pumpkin. With that line of thought he succumbed to the urge to sing songs from the Disney classic the rest of the way.

Looking back, there was nothing stranger than a sixteen year old boy flying his '73 MG Midget over Ohio, while singing Disney at the top of his lungs.

Five minutes outside Westerville he lowered the flying car into a secluded street, and carefully drove the rest of the way invisible. At the Anderson's house, he clicked the garage door button and drove in. He waited until the door was firmly shut again, before pushing the button that made the car visible again.

Blaine continued humming the tune to 'Bippity, Boppity, Boop' as he walked through the garage, and into the wash room.

"Blaine, is that you?"

Blaine's shoulders drooped.

He had hoped that if he had to run into anyone, it would be his mother.

He plastered on his usual charming smile, and walked into the kitchen. Charles Anderson was seated at the bar, legs crossed, reading the newspaper.

"What are you doing home?" He frowned. "Shouldn't you be in a different country?"

Blaine licked his lips, only hesitating for a second. "You know what? I just couldn't resist coming back here... To take my baby out for a spin." He gestured around. "Before you say anything, I just - I've waited so long, ever since we rebuilt the old thing -" Blaine spoke with his hands, making an odd scrunched up face.

"Blaine, stop."

Blaine dropped his hands immediately.

 _I'm in trouble._ He thought.

Instead of giving the disappointment speech, Charles smiled. "You don't have to explain yourself. I remember when I got my first car, I slept in it for a week. It's hard to part with them."

"That's nice, dad."

"So?" His father prompted. "Have you named her yet?"

"Uh, oh... Y-yeah. Thought of it while driving."

"Oh?"

Blaine looked off to the side for inspiration. The only thing he saw was the blue curtain on the kitchen window and yellow walls. Picking his brains he was able to come up with, "Evelyn!"

"Have you taken a picture to show your friends?"

"Yeah, they're all jealous. They don't get their flying carpet licence until they're seventeen." Blaine deadpanned.

Charles chuckled, not catching the irony. "You'll have to bring them over sometime to see her."

"Well it's Tuesday, I really should get going. Time difference and all." Blaine supplied, pointing to his watch.

He was again slapped by his own immediacy to leave: Time difference, curfew... Wes.

"Can't you stay for dinner. Your mother will be gone soon. She'll be upset she missed you."

"I'm really sorry dad. I'll come home this weekend, I promise."

"Blaine-"

"You might want to leave the room, I need to use the..." Blaine groaned at fireplace.

Charles sighed heavily. "I'm used to it. Go on, but I'm holding you to your word."

The last thing Blaine thought before he was sucked into nothingness was, _'How the hell did I manage to get the guys invited over?'_

Seconds later, hundreds of miles away he appeared in the Hog's Head. Luckily the place didn't close until midnight and the owner was very old. Blaine sprinted across the town and into Honeydukes, barely making it in before the door magically closed itself.

"Cutting it close Blaine!" A voice chuckled.

Blaine sent a charming smile over to the owner of the candy store.

He had once done a favor for the owners of the place and was good friends with their daughter, so as long as he was in before the doors sealed themselves, the owners let him use the passageway in the basement.

Mrs Lynch swatted him with her cleaning rag as he passed by. Blaine jumped aside, laughing.

"Goodnight Anderson!"

"'Night Mrs Lynch."

In the passageway he sprinted all the way through, which was by no means an easy feat. By the time he reached the stone steps that led up to the statue exit, he was out of breath and clutching a side stitch. He had yet to run across several floors, all the while avoiding Peeves, prefects, professors, and one Wesley Montgomery. _(Oh my!)_ The Fat Lady wouldn't be a problem so long as he made it before midnight. A few years previously the Gryffindor's cut a deal with her: They wouldn't leave before four in the morning, and they couldn't wake her after midnight.

He ran up to her portrait, a few asthma attacks past out of breath.

"Alohomora." He wheezed.

The Fat Lady dutifully swung forward with a huff of annoyance.

"Cutting it a little close there Blaine." A voice said in a tone much less pleasant than Mrs. Lynch.

Blaine froze. The recliner by the fire spun around, revealing David with his arms and legs crossed, and an unpleasant expression on his face. That meant bad things.

"And by that I mean, five minutes later and it would be tomorrow. You missed curfew by, hmm," David pretended to check his watch. "Over two hours."

Apparently David was playing the role of frantic mother tonight. It was unlikely he would let Blaine off very easily.

"I just don't get it." David's shoulders drooped and he ran a hand over his face. "Some boy breaks into the school and you don't turn him in - you actually ask Wes not to say anything. The only reason I didn't is because I haven't a clue how he did it. You miss curfew by several hours. And then I hear that you ran off to another country during class! This isn't like you. What were you even doing?"

Blaine hesitated.

David Thompson had been among his closest friends since he had transferred to Hogwarts in third year. David being a year older, had always helped him out and been someone that he could go to. However, now it didn't matter that they lived on opposite sides of globe from Kurt. He had promised that he wouldn't tell anyone and he intended to honor that promise. He could only hope that David would give him the opportunity to explain that and that he would be understanding.

"I'm sorry David, but it's really not your business."

"Not my business? So the last three years, every time you and the other gits got into trouble, I could have just said, 'Well it's not my business' and went on my merry way? Left you to solve your own problems?" Throughout the tirade David's voice steadily rose until he was yelling.

"David that's not what I meant."

"I don't care. The fact of the matter is I've been waiting for you, wondering if you were dead or if you needed help."

"Merlin's pants," Liam said groggily, standing at the foot of the stairs and rubbing his eyes.

"We could hear you all the way through the dorm enchantments." Jeff appeared behind Liam, along with Nick, Thad, Oliver, and Dwight.

"Why are you yelling?" Asked Oliver.

"Blaine is _just now_ coming back." David said. If it was sympathy he expected, then he was sorely mistaken. The others rolled their eyes, immediately siding with Blaine. This only served to further annoy David.

Dwight's eyes bugged out. "Bloody wizards." He muttered, walking back to the dorms.

The others, used to his strange behavior after years, ignored him.

"He's been Godric knows where, doing-"

"Give him a break." Interupted Oliver. "He hasn't broken any rules since last year."

"Oh, well congratulations on going a whole twenty days!"

The boys rolled their eyes while David continued on the rant.

"How many times are you people going to break these rules put in place for your safety? How many times before you start acting a little more responsibly? Why -"

"Have you and Wes been having sex?"

David stopped talking and everyone's head whipped around to Jeff.

"Because I swear you're like, one person." He yawned.

"That doesn't even make-"

Oliver chuckled. "I hope you're using protection, you wouldn't want to get pregnant while you're on your manstrual cycle."

" _Wes_? You're lucky Wes didn't come up here tonight." David muttered, brushing past them, and disappearing up the stairs and into the sixth year boys' dormitory.

"It's not like Wes would have turned you in if he had." Thad assured Blaine. He briefly gripped his shoulder, then walked off after David.

The remainder of the Gryffindors trudged up the stairs together, stopping in front the fifth year dorm. When the actual fifth year's gave Jeff an expectant look he only blinked back at them, so they didn't say anything. As the others filed in Nick hung back with Blaine at the door. 

"Don't be too hard on David." Nick said. "He's just worried. I think he has a right to be after what happened last year."

"And the year before that." Jeff called unhelpfully from where he was lounging on Nick's bed.

As much as they would have liked to deny it, their little group did have a penchant for causing trouble as well as falling into it. Admittedly, much of what David said was true - Blaine had to give him that.

* * *

On the other side of the world in Ohio Kurt lay in bed just thinking about everything that had happened. It made Kurt's stomach swooped joyously. He hadn't had such a delightful day in a very long time.

Though he was tired after such a long day sleep was elusive. Every so often he had to look over at the pile of letters from Blaine just to remind himself that it did happen. He also kept turning a tiny piece of paper over in his hands, it was now so handled that it was getting soft and crinkled. The paper was a brief note from Jeff that he had found in his pocket not long after arriving back home. It read:

_Hello mate. Remember Jeff Sterling ;)_

Jeff must have slipped it in there when he was inappropriately close. There were many times that day so Kurt couldn't exactly pinpoint when that might have been.

Eventually exhaustion won out over excitement. His eyes drooped shut and the events of the day danced across his eyelids making him grin. That night he dreamt of magic; not what he had come to know magic as it truly was - testing, secrecy, hard studying, more secrets - but of the stuff of faery tales where a handsome night with dark curly hair and deep honey eyes swept him away on a giant lion.


	5. New Friends

It was only a matter of hours before Blaine contacted Kurt again. The morning after his Hogsmeade visit Blaine sent a letter asking him to coffee at some point over the weekend since he would apparently be at his parents house anyway. Kurt immediately sent a letter back agreeing to it. On Saturday they met at the Lima Bean, which coincidentally happened to be one of Blaine's usual haunts during the summers. This yet again brought up the question of why they hadn't met before. They stayed there for a few hours enjoying one another's company and drinking coffee. Blaine even got to meet Sam who apparently went to the Lima Bean on Saturdays for their amazing chocolate chip cookies.

Before they parted Blaine gave Kurt the second half to a matched set of mirrors, which would allow them to talk to each other instantly. It was yet another example of how convenient magic was, and who was Kurt kidding before? Living without magic at that point would be like severing off a limb.

* * *

"I was thinking that by-"

Rachel Berry was on yet another well rehearsed tangent. This time it was over how _entrusting the majority of solos to one person or perhaps a single pair would benefit the group dynamic by adding stability to the New Directions as a whole._ Kurt figured if he let her speak her bit she would leave. It wasn't working.

By this time on a normal day he would have told her off or retreated into the boys bathroom (as Finn often did), but this morning he was in an unusually good mood. To preserve that mood he probably ought to have gotten away from Rachel. He weighed the pros vs the cons of hurting her feelings as he fiddled with his locker. For some reason he couldn't get it to open. He tried shifting his books in his arms to use both hands, but that didn't work so he handed them off to Rachel. She didn't give much notice and grabbed them while continuing her rant.

His problem turned out to be a little hairpin lodged in the keyhole on the bottom of the lock. His eyes widened as scenario after scenario flooded his brain. Knowing McKinley, it was probably filled with dirt.

"Rachel, could you open my locker for me?"

 _She deserves this._ He tried to convince himself as he shut his eyes, waiting for impact.

"Ooh!" She squealed.

Kurt opened his eyes expecting Rachel to be covered in something. Instead she was pointing at the inside of the door. His eyes followed her finger. Finding what she was looking at, his mouth dropped and his head tilted to one side.

Hanging on the locker door was the word 'courage' made out of letters torn from Vogue, and above it was a wooden picture frame. The most shocking part of it all was in the frame - a photograph of Blaine Anderson decked out in his Hogwarts robes while grinning adorably... and then posing with a ridiculous come hither expression.

That picture was no ordinary picture. It was a magically enchanted, soaked in potion, wizard photograph... And Rachel 'Muggle' Berry was reaching for it. Kurt tried to intercept her, he really did, but Rachel was too quick.

"Who is this?" She asked, mistaking his distress for embarrassment.

"No one!" He answered a little too quickly.

"Doesn't look like no one to me." She chimed. The way she was holding it so close to her face and intently starting at it was like it would say, ' _Hi, I'm Blaine Anderson'_ and begin spouting off his life story. Then again, it _was_ magical... _Oh God!_ What it if it did?

Kurt made another desperate swipe for it. No such luck.

Would she buy if he said it was electronic? Maybe if he lied she would _stop_ looking at it!

No. She would know if he was lying.

Honestly, by now it was pointless, she should've noticed the photo moving. He settled for a half truth.

"His name is Blaine. Puck sent me to spy on the Warblers. I met him there at Dalton."

"Oh my God, Kurt! It's just like Romeo and Juliet!" Rachel's face suddenly turned serious. She placed her hand on top of each other over her chest and gave him _the_ look. "From a place of caring and experience, what with the Jesse debacle I would advise against a relationship with our rival."

"What? Rachel he's not in the gl - Warblers..." Technically that wasn't a lie. He really didn't need to have to explain where Blaine was when Rachel inevitably stalked the Warblers. Hopefully she wouldn't try to find Blaine at Dalton.

"Still is he gay?"

_Is this girl for real? Does she not see the giant elephant in the room?_

"Your sexuality?" A Cheerio's uniform and tan skin passed by in Kurt's peripheral vision.

Kurt glared at Santana...

He backtracked, "Wait, did I say that out loud?"

It didn't matter, Rachel wasn't even paying attention. "He's gorgeous. Though that blazer does leave much to be desired. I mean blue and red? Who put decided those two colors went well together? Is he model?"

Red and blue? Those certainly weren't the colors of any house at Hogwarts. Maybe because she was a muggle -

Oh, he was an idiot.

"If you haven't tapped that yet then, yeah, you are."

And suddenly Santana was ogling too.

"Didn't you just-"

"Britt wasn't at her locker so I figured I'd see what Man-hands found so interesting." Santana shrugged. "Also Puckerman said you went to spy on gay pep school last week. Spill."

Gryffindor's boots, he never went to spy on the Warblers because he went to Hogwarts instead.

"Th-they were good."

"Is that it? God, you are the worst spy ever!" Santana rolled her eyes and stormed off.

Kurt smiled thinking of Wes and David saying the exact same thing, albeit much more pleasantly.

"I totally forgot!" Rachel exclaimed, suddenly realizing the reason Kurt supposedly met his new friend. "I totally understand why you wouldn't want to tell her, but I guess she'll find out anyway when you present to the glee club."

Kurt groaned.

Right, glee.

* * *

Thankfully, Mr. Sure saved him in glee. As soon as Rachel brought the Warblers topic back up, Puck ushered Kurt up to the front of the room to tell everything what he saw. Before he had the chance to find an excuse, Mr. Shue walked in and reprimanded them for spying.

None of this would have been that big of a deal if he didn't live with Finn and Rachel wasn't such a blabber mouth. He could've told everyone that he lied and never went to spy, and possibly gained points with Mr. Shue, but then Finn would ask why he was so late coming home twice if he wasn't in Westerville. Finn was probably the worst alibi ever. It wasn't that he was a snitch or that he wasn't a decent liar, but he didn't know that he was supposed to be covering for Kurt and Kurt couldn't tell him what he needed covering for anyway. That being the way it was, Finn had already let his cover story slip once and Kurt had to admit to Burt that he was spying on another glee club, which was still not a complete lie. Yes, he and his dad were much closer and he wasn't afraid to be honest with him, but Burt would skin him alive for running off to Scotland twice without telling anyone. Besides, Rachel already knew about Blaine. In the short time since he'd told her she had alread told the other girls all about him meeting a boy at Dalton Academy in Westerville.

He was digging himself in a deeper hole everyday, but with being apart of a secret underground race of magical beings and a former closet case, he was used to dealing in secret and keeping up with lie after lie. It was sad, but it had to be that way. Which was why he couldn't wait to get out of Ohio and move into New York where he wouldn't be shunned for his sexuality and where he might even meet more witches and wizards like himself. How he envied Blaine and the rest of the Phoenixes for having the opportunity to attend a real school with others like themselves.

Once rehearsal was through Kurt rushed out to his car before anyone could corner him. He realized that avoiding the others until sectionals was impossible, but he had a safety net in the New Directions' inability to focus on one thing at a time due to their constant flow of drama.

At home, he went up to his room and looked the door so that Finn couldn't try to barge in.

Toni wasn't coming in until the next day so he had the afternoon 'off'. That was Toni's code for he should independently study. Instead he was pathetically daydreaming about Blaine, and not for the first time either.

At first he had been mad at Blaine for scaring him and making him think that he put a magical photograph in his locker for all the muggle world to see, luckily Kurt came to the realization that Blaine wasn't that reckless and had probably changed the photo. Now he thought it was really sweet and awfully romantic, and yeah, maybe he had a small crush on the boy.

He was so lost in thought that he almost didn't notice his 'two-way' mirror glowing on the bedside table. The only reason he even saw it was because it's bright glow painted the white walls an electric blue.

Kurt immediately jumped off his bed, nearly tripping in the process, and hastened to grab the magical device and his wand. After he had them he sat back down on the bed and briefly checked over himself in the mirror, making sure his hair was perfectly coiffed and there were no food crumbs or anything on his face.

Hopefully the mirrors were more like Skype rather than a phone call that went to voicemail after a certain amount of time. He mentally filed that under questions to ask Blaine.

Settling himself on the bed he thought back to how to work the thing.

_"When you have an... incoming call," Blaine's lips twitched upwards at his own cheekiness. "The glass will glow blue then you just tap it with your wand - like so - and voilà!" And sure enough, Blaine's smiling face had appeared in Kurt's own mirror._

Kurt tapped the following glass with his wand as Blaine had and just like then -

Blaine's smiling face appeared and he chirped, "Hi!"

Kurt rested back against a headboard and propped his mirror against one knee. From that angle Kurt could only see Blaine's torso and not much of his surroundings. He grinned. "So you'll never guess what happened this morning."

"What?"

"I discovered a very sweet, albeit misguided, hooligan broke into my locker and left this," He held up the picture on his phone he had taken off his locker door.

Blaine beamed. "No worries muggles can't see it, all they see is some prep school boy clad in a red and blue blazer seducing the camera. "

"I figured you put some charm on it, though I feared it might be raunchy. Seducing the camera, almost makes me wish I were a muggle." Fearing the last comment may have been too bold, he steered the conversation back somewhere less flirty, "Red and blue blazer? I hope you're kidding."

"Yes I was, I wasn't really seducing the camera that's just natural, however the blazer doesn't look as bad as it sounds. I should warn you that it's only a glamour spell done by a fifth year Gryffindor who's not very good at charms." A faint blush appeared on his cheeks. "So I would probably take it down before the spell wears off."

"Then it's a good thing I am excellent at charms." Kurt said. "So tell me, how did you even get into my locker let alone the school?"

Blaine grinned mysteriously. "A magician never reveals his secrets."

"Touché. Now tell me before the suspense kills me."

"Well..."

**Duh-na Duh-na Dun-na BLAINE - SPY!**

_A black hooded figure appeared seemingly out of nowhere in front of William McKinley High School. It swiftly made a beeline toward the side door where it pulled a long slender object to pick the lock out of its pocket. This however proved unnecessary, for when the person placed a hand on the door it swung open easily._

**Duh-na Duh-na Dun-na BLAINE - SPY!**

"Wait, the door just opened?"

"Yeah, there wasn't even a lock."

"Weird..."

...

_Three adults stood in various states of shock in front a newly, and still wet, graffitied wall._

_"I don't get it. How did a student even get in here last night?" Asked Mr. Shue._

_"Something tells me it wasn't a student." Mrs. Pillsbury said turning back to the giant painting of Sue Sylvester in a fur coat, wielding a septor._

_"The school board decreed that teachers can no longer have keys to the main buildings." Mr. Shue said in confusion._

_"William your lack of imagination astounds me." Sue appeared with Becky in tow. "Like taking candy from a baby. Ever since the school board slashed the budget they had to forego the installment of new locks in order to pay for my new canon." Sue patted him on the shoulder roughly and walked away._

_"Sue!" Figgins cried to heavens._

_..._

Blaine shrugged.

"Anyway you were saying?"

**Duh-na Duh-na Dun-na BLAINE - SPY!**

_The figure jumped back in fright and fell. It quickly picked itself up and cautiously approached the entrance. He laughed merrily when he noticed the door hadn't even had a lock._

_"Muggles."_

_The figure made its way along rows upon rows of lockers until he found the one he was searching. It was probably the most beat up locker in the whole school. There were several dents, scratches, and profanities scribbled across the exterior. The mysterious man pulled his lock-picker and let it work its magic. The lock clicked and the door was swung open._

**Duh-na Duh-na Dun-na BLAINE - SPY!**

"That would explain the bobby pin." Kurt muttered to himself. "A muggle trick. Care to explain that one?"

"Alohamora doesn't work on most of the locks here anymore." Blaine's eyes were wide and his eyebrows comically raised. "When you have friends as crazy as mine you have to get creative."

There was a story in there that Kurt needed to hear. Before he could ask there was an explosive noise from Blaine's end. The only indication Blaine gave that he had even noticed was his shoulders tensing and the imperceptible twitch of his right eye.

"What was that? Where are you?"

Kurt heard a muffled voice he recognized as Wes' call, "Not in the dorms!", then a door opening and slamming shut.

"Oh, that's just Jeff being stupid." Somebody in the room cried ' _Oi!',_ but they were ignored. "This," Blaine stood up and angled the mirror so that Kurt could see the rest of the room. "Is my dorm. Welcome to Gryffindor tower. Ta-da."

From Kurt's rather small perspective he could tell that the room was certainly spacious. There were five beds in a circle around the edge of the room. On the bed right next to Blaine's, Jeff was lounging in his Hogwarts robes, his hair ruffled and clothes slightly singed.

"Hi Jeff." Kurt greeted.

Jeff looked up and waved, a cheesy smile present on his face.

Blaine turned the mirror around onto himself and sat back down on his bed.

"Are you two roommates?"

"No Jeff just likes to hang out in here sometimes and _listen to other's conversations_." Blaine sent him a pointed look over the mirror.

Another round of loud noises sounded off.

"See! It couldn't have been me. Me and my stupidity are in here thank you very much." Jeff said.

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Well I should probably go and keep our Head Boy from going to Azkaban."

* * *

"What did you do?" Kurt unceremoniously greeted the following Monday.

It was nearly five p.m. and he was still at the school because glee rehearsal ran late. Mr. Shue had just released them, and then he stopped by his locker when Blaine had called him via the mirrors. His mirror had been cleverly slipped into a case so that it appeared to be a tablet or a kindle, and only the janitor and a few teachers were still at the school, so he was safe. It was only minimally risky of him to have answered anywhere other than his bedroom now.

On the mirror's surface Blaine's easy smile slipped into a confused frown.

Kurt glanced over his shoulder, then sat the mirror down in his locker. "All day, every time I opened my locker Santana kept smirking and saying 'wanky'! Then the local hobo Patches was randomly there smiling at me and it was creepy! Like, how did he even get in the school?" Blaine shivered. "I felt violated Blaine, _violated_!"

Kurt heard snickering in the background followed by Blaine calling, " _Jeff what did you do_?"

Blaine suddenly pounced off of the bed and a fuming Kurt was left staring at the Gryffindor fifth year boy's ceiling

"How do I fix this?" Kurt was grateful that he didn't ask why he didn't just get rid of the photo - if he had though, Kurt was prepared with a permanent sticking charm excuse. To Hell if he would tell the truth.

"I'll show you the spell." Blaine instructed Kurt to get his wand as he did the same. Again, Kurt glanced around. He pulled the locker door closer creating a barrier and angled himself so that if anyone did pass by they wouldn't see anything, before pulling his wand out. Tony and his dad would skin him alive if they found out about this. Blaine then started explaining the simple spell to Kurt. He had performed similar spells, so he got the concept down easily enough.

"How do I know it changes properly?"

"The spell is like internet settings, you can... view it before you save changes."

Kurt nodded, impressed. "How are you so tech savvy?

"It's a gift. Honestly though, I love Hogwarts but I miss my baby." Blaine said, staring at Kurt's iPhone longingly.

"Okay done!" He proclaimed proudly.

Blaine reluctantly peeled his eyes away from the device and smiled at Kurt. "See? Just get a better lock."

Behind Blaine Kurt saw a flash of bleach blonde hair tiptoe past.

"Jeff! I know you're there. I'm coming for you." Kurt heard a squeak followed by quick footsteps and a door slam.

"Did he get the message?"

"Crystal."

"Good." Kurt slammed his locker shut then walked out toward the parking lot, occasionally glancing around to make sure he wasn't being followed. "I'll have to call you back after I drive home."

"I'll be waiting!"

Kurt tapped the glass with his wand and its surface transformed back into an ordinary mirror. After he got to his car he left the school and finally headed home for the day. Back at home he contacted Blaine. Their mirrors instantly connected and Blaine appeared.

Very little could be seen from the perspective of the small mirror, but a spacious room full of an odd assortment of chairs as well as a roaring fire was behind Blaine rather than the usual headboard and partial wall backdrop. Wherever Blaine was at it was also noisier. Not by much, but just enough to suggest they weren't alone.

Blaine fell into one of the plush armchairs and got comfortable. "So I was thinking that you should come up here this weekend. I know this great coffee place, and since I went to Ohio last weekend..."

"And the truth comes out." Kurt pretended to sigh. "You don't have to blackmail me, you know. I love Hogsmeade, and you can tell the guys I can't wait to see them."

In the background a chorus of 'Aww's' rang out. Blaine grinned sheepishly and turned the mirror around. In front of Blaine a big group of Phoenixes in their pajamas were squeezed onto a small couch, all waving and smiling. Kurt recognized Nick, an annoyed Wes stuck under Jeff, and a pair of Olivers.

"No you're not seeing double," One of the Olivers said.

"Just bear in mind, I'm the better one!" Said the other. Kurt was sure that was the one he had met - the actual Oliver.

Blaine turned the mirror back to himself. "Should I come get you or-"

"I know my way. I'll meet you in the Hog's Head."

"Excellent."

* * *

"Kurt!" Several excited voices cried upon his appearance in the Hogs Head's grimy fireplace. He stepped out of the tiny space and into the dimly lit bar, brushing soot from his clothing. He grinned at the three Gryffindor boys he had met on his last visit and then began searching for Blaine. The Gryffindor was nowhere to be found. Kurt looked at Jeff, Nick, and Oliver, who were watching him with broad grins.

"Where's Blaine?" He asked. "He was supposed to meet me here."

Nick patted him on the back as a way of greeting. "He was running late, so we offered to come get you. We're meeting some friends at the Three Broomsticks"

"Oh, alright." Kurt said, a little disappointed. "Lead the way."

Kurt followed Nick out the door and the other two fell in line behind them. Kurt pulled his jacket tighter around himself as a blast of chilly air hit him. This time he was much more prepared for the lower temperature and had worn warmer clothes than he would back in Lima. Fall seemed to have skipped over this part of the world, or at least passed by much earlier, as winter was already beginning to set in.

"Who all are we meeting?"

"Er, Blaine, David, Wes, Liam, Trent," Jeff ticked each person off on his fingers. "And I think that's all."

Kurt thought back to his few visits. "I don't think I've met Trent or Liam." He said, trying to place the names to faces he'd seen.

Oliver shook his head. "No. They weren't there last time."

"They're both fellow Phoenixes, and Liam is Oliver's twin brother." Nick explained.

Nick pushed open the door to the Three Broomsticks and allowed the others to go in before him. Warmth spread from Kurt's toes all the way to the rest of his body and painted his cheeks rosy. The atmosphere of this pub was much of the same as he remembered it being. Unlike the Hog's Head it was warm and friendly, bursting with all types of people that didn't include so many suspicious characters. It was also a lot less dingy and the air wasn't so stale. With Oliver at the head they traveled past numerous groups of young people clad in black robes and striped scarves until they came upon a table where four boys were talking. Kurt instantly recognized the two boys facing them as Wes and David. When they saw the group they waved. The other two boys, presumably Trent and Liam, had their backs to them. One of them (a round-faced boy Kurt noted) turned to see who Wes and David were waving at. The blonde beside him continued speaking loudly and making wild hand gestures.

Nick walked up behind the blonde and placed his hands on either side of his shoulders, nearly getting smacked in the process. "No one's going to believe that, Liam." He said.

"Rubbish. You haven't a clue what we're talking about either."

"Presumably the same thing you've been talking about all week." Nick retorted.

"Dear Liam, we could hear you across the pub." Oliver chuckled. He stopped mid-laugh when Jeff tried to take the seat next to Liam. As Oliver shoved Jeff away Liam stuck his foot out, tripping Jeff. The result was Jeff falling into Nick, who barely managed to catch him under the arms before he hit the floor. Kurt glanced around, surprised to find no one paying them any attention.

" _Oy!_ I get to sit by Jamie." Oliver triumphantly sat down beside Liam and high-fived him.

"Twin privileges." Liam added unapologetically.

"You must be the infamous Kurt." The round-faced boy said to Kurt.

Kurt having been overlooked up until then jumped at being directly acknowledged. Everyone at the table was watching him. To his embarrassment he realized that he was the only one still standing. He quickly sat down in the nearest open chair which was luckily beside Jeff, someone he sort of knew.

"Yes, that's me. And you are - Trent?" He deduced.

The boy smiled. "In the flesh."

Suddenly Nick cupped his hands around his mouth and called, "You certainly took your time, Blaine!"

Before Kurt had the chance to turn around Blaine had sped over and dropped into the chair to Kurt's left at the head of the table. Blaine shrugged his peacoat off and unfurled a burgundy scarf from his neck.

"Where's the robes today Blainey?" Asked Jeff.

Blaine looked at the other occupants of the table excluding Kurt and noticed that they were all wearing their Hogwarts robes. "Now that it's cold, _everyone_ suddenly starts wearing robes." Blaine rolled his eyes.

"They're warm."

"So what have I missed?"

"Well we've ordered drinks and properly frightened Kurt." Trent said, lacking no amount of sass. "So we can mark that off that checklist."

"Ha-ha, very amusing." Blaine really didn't appear amused. He glanced at Kurt, seeming to assess his mental wellbeing. He then turned on Jeff. "What have you gotten up to now?"

"Liam tripped me. Now it's uncertain whether I'll ever walk again." Jeff said very seriously.

"Pity, I've missed the circus." Said Blaine.

David stood up abruptly. "I have to go." He muttered, then walked off.

Kurt, not living with the boys or even knowing them all that well, didn't pick up on the strangeness of the moment, but did note everyone's sudden discomfort, particularly Blaine's.

Wes frowned, standing as well. "I better go too. My apologies." Before he left he smiled at Kurt and said, "It was nice seeing you again, Kurt."

Oliver and Liam simultaneously turned their heads to watch him go until he was out the door completely. "Now that those fuddy-duddies are out of here - what were you two really up to last week when you couldn't make it?" Oliver asked Trent and Liam, effectively clearing the tension.

"We honestly were in the library working on homework."

"A most regrettable decision." Liam hung his head, as though they'd done something terrible.

"Yeah, we heard that Blaine brought along a new friend." Trent addressed Kurt, "So, those three were the first ones you met?" He said, motioning to Nick, Jeff, and Oliver. "God bless you."

"Well, actually it was Wes and David." Kurt corrected.

Trent swooned even more. "You are a saint."

The boys rolled their eyes.

"Tell us exactly how you managed to sneak into Hogwarts. Spare us no details."

"We never did get to hear the full version." Jeff added.

Kurt was taken aback. The way Blaine was grinning and the others were watching him so hopefully was all the encouragement he needed. Over the next fifteen minutes he told them all about his floo journey to Scotland. The story wouldn't have taken but five minutes had everyone not interrupted so often, but he didn't mind. It wasn't like how the other members of the New Directions interrupted and talked over each other, because unlike them it was clear the boys were listening. While the Hogwarts boys were a boisterous and energetic bunch, they were an excellent audience.

Kurt's story led to Trent and Jeff telling everyone about the time they got stuck in the room of requirement, during which everyone ordered a round of butterbeers; Kurt was becoming quite fond of the delicious drink. They continued to talk and tell stories until Kurt sorrowfully informed them that he had to leave. Like all of the other times Blaine alone walked him to his fireplace where they said their farewells.

* * *

Over the course of the next few weeks Kurt and Blaine took advantage of the floo network and it became quite common for the two to flit between Ohio and Scotland.

Whenever Kurt would floo over they spent much of their time in Hogsmeade and rarely ventured onto the Hogwart's grounds so as not to get into trouble. There Blaine introduced him to most of his friends, including the rest of the Phoenixes. The third time Kurt traveled to Hogsmeade he got to see even more of the old town than just the Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head. The first few times he hadn't given much thought to the other inhabitants of the town but as they went through most of the shops he began to notice the vast number of students there.

"So they just let you come down here whenever?" Kurt had asked in wonder.

"Officially, every weekend third years and above can." Blaine looked uncharacteristically bashful. "But I think they turn a blind eye to anyone smart enough to sneak in whenever."

"But you guys don't do that." Kurt said knowingly.

Blaine looked momentarily uncomfortable, before he composed himself and retorted, " _Of course_ not."

Kurt didn't believe it for a second.

"Blaine!" A younger boy called, running toward them. A blur of sandy hair ducked between Jeff and a Phoenix named Cole, whose arms were outstretched in an attempt to block him, and skidded to a clumsy halt in front of Kurt and Blaine. The boy stuck his tongue out at Jeff, before grinning at Blaine. "Wotcher, Blaine."

"Hello, Teddy." Blaine greeted. He then turned to Kurt. "He's older then he looks."

Kurt's lips twitched. " _Of course_ he is."

That first day they never did get around to getting coffee. Instead they explored the town and went into its various shops and sites including: Honeydukes, Spintwitches, Weasley's Wizard Weezes, the Shrieking Shack, Dominic Maestro's, and Gladrag's Wizardwear (they particularly enjoyed Maestro's). Of course they hardly made their way through the entire town in a day, but during these visits Kurt did eventually get to see most of the interesting places. Each time he visited he met more and more people and even made some friends. To name a few, there was Rory Flanagan, a misfortunate but nice fifth year Slytherin boy, as well as Teddy Lupin a second year Gryffindor, and of course all of the Phoenixes.

Just as Kurt met half of Hogwarts, Blaine met a few of the New Directions when he came to Ohio. Lima wasn't nearly as interesting as the places that Blaine showed him, but they still managed to have fun. One night Blaine even agreed to have dinner with Kurt and Mercedes. They had to go to Breadstix, and Mercedes was much more suspicious of Blaine's cover story than Brittany who had said a lot of things that made little sense, and Santana who was too busy making Blaine uncomfortable - but all in all dinner didn't go too badly.

Mercedes and Blaine shook hands when they met and exchanged pleasantries outside the door, and when they were seated Blaine ever the gentleman pulled out her chair for her, then slid into the booth side next to Kurt.

Mercedes was the first to start a conversation. "So you go to..." She trailed off.

"Oh, I attend a private school in New England." Blaine lied smoothly.

Even though they had already discussed their cover story on the way to dinner, Kurt was impressed by Blaine's acting. Then again, he supposed that just because Blaine went to a magic school didn't meant that he didn't have a pretense to keep up when he was back home in Westerville.

Mercedes eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, that's really far away. How exactly did you two meet?"

Another question that - because it had already been answered countless times - was anticipated.

"I was at the school there - Dalton - visiting some friends when Kurt came spying." He explained, "My parents live in Westerville, I come home every other weekend and on breaks."

"So what are you doing up here on a Thursday?"' She asked shrewdly.

Kurt opened his mouth to tell Mercedes off for asking so many questions, but Blaine easily answered, "Our school has a four day school week."

"And you drive all the way up here?"

Blaine looked her in the eye and deadpanned, "There's a special portal between Westerville and New England." He looked so serious Mercedes didn't even question him and went on to the next topic. Kurt hid his amusement behind his water glass and Blaine winked at him.

The rest of dinner went much more smoothly once Mercedes finally got some tater tots and began a conversation that didn't involve an interrogation.

They played a game to get to know each other better and talked a bit about Vogue before Mercedes got bored and redirected the conversation to sports just to annoy Kurt. As it turned out Blaine was a huge football fan and went on about the Buckeyes statistics the previous season and their chances for the upcoming one - he had somehow managed to keep track of his favorite sports team all the way across the world in a place with no cable or internet access.

At the door Blaine and Kurt said goodbye to Mercedes and promised to meet up again, then went to Kurt's car.

"So what did you think?" Kurt asked.

"She seemed nice, a little too acute. I feel like she would have been onto me had she not been a little out of it."

"Yeah, tot withdrawals."

Blaine nodded sympathetically.

They sat in amiable silence as the car traveled down the highway. Kurt thought back to how well the evening went and smiled. Mercedes and Blaine really had gotten along well after the initial distrustfulness on Mercedes part wore off. That was more than could be said for when or if Rachel ever met him. Although, Rachel's suspicion would arise from her ridiculous hatred for competition she considered spies rather than because of obvious, but necessary lies. It seemed like everything to do with magic was a huge secret and having to keep up with the lies to protect it was tiresome. Kurt really wished that he could tell Mercedes about magic. It would make things a lot simpler for their friendship if he wasn't always holding something back. Finn would probably tell him about 'great power coming with great responsibility', and Rachel Berry would probably say something along the lines of this being the perfect opportunity to use this experience and channel it into his performing.

Kurt snorted at the train of thought, making Blaine quizzically look over from the window.

"Personally, I think all wizards should be actors." Kurt said, breaking the silence. As an afterthought he added, "Being apart of the magical world you really learn to give a show."

Blaine laughed. "That's what my brother said."

* * *

"You'll never guess what happened." Blaine said at the same time Kurt said, "I have news!"

They both laughed. Blaine motioned to Kurt, "You first."

"Carole and my dad got engaged today!"

Blaine appeared surprised by the news as well pleased . "Wow, um, congratulations! Tell me about it. When are they getting married? Do they have a date yet?"

"Well it happened this morning at the school actually. Dad proposed to Carole in the classroom where they first met during first period. Do I wish I could have seen the looks on those poor sophomores faces."

Blaine chuckled.

"The wedding is next week on Halloween." Kurt quickly added, "Don't worry. They appointed me to plan it, so absolutely no orange and black." Blaine pretended to be relieved. Kurt rolled his eyes. "I was thinking a fall theme would be appropriate." Kurt took on a wistful expression, momentarily getting lost in wedding plans. When he snapped out of his thoughts and realized he was still talking to Blaine he gave a bashful smile. "Anyway, what was your unbelievable news?"

Blaine looked up in thought. "I think I was going to tell you about the twins getting busted for an illegal cage match."

"I never would have guessed Blaine, really? I may not know Liam and Oliver all that well, but that's still predictable."

"Alright, alright," Blaine rubbed the back of his neck. "Thinking back it's not really all that shocking, or as exciting as an _engagement_."

"They're okay though, right? Not locked up somewhere in a dungeon awaiting trial?" Kurt was only half joking after hearing about the cranky caretaker from Blaine's friends.

"They're probably wishing they were. No, they're currently in detention with Headmistress McGonagall for an indefinite amount of time. They're lucky she's letting them off for the Halloween feast. _Oh!"_ Blaine exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. "I was going to tell you about the annual Halloween feast. They decorate the castle and they let us trick-or-treat in Hogsmeade, then afterwards we go to a huge feast. I was going to ask you if you wanted to come with us to Hogsmeade, but I suppose you're busy."

"Oh." Kurt deflated. He tried not to look too disappointed.

Blaine smiled again. "So tell me more about the wedding."

"Well, I've only got a week to organize it and I'm on a budget so it cant be too extravagant. Though I did talk to my tutor and if I play my cards right she might look the other way if I use a little magic. We can't exactly have a full on wizard wedding with muggles present and the bride unaware, and even without it I think I have a few ideas on how to make it _magical_." Kurt clapped his hands together gleefully.

They began discussing wedding plans, with Blaine making suggestions and Kurt writing down ideas only to cross them out later on. At one point Blaine had to talk him out of feeding the doves glitter. They continued like this until dinnertime for Kurt and curfew for Blaine, and only then said goodnight.

* * *

It wasn't until after the wedding and Halloween that Blaine finally got to take Kurt to his favorite coffee shop in Hogsmeade. Winter was really starting to come in at that point and rather than being nippier than usual due to Hogwarts being at a higher elevation than Ohio, it was cold. The students and residents of the town were beginning to break out the scarves and cloaks. Kurt had luckily prepared for the climate and was donning a peacoat, gloves, and a woolen scarf. He was glad for it when he and Blaine stepped out into the winter air. It was certainly coffee weather.

They walked over to High Street and stepped into a small dark shop. The walls were painted different shades of coffee brown making it appear smaller. It was a bit cramped, with various mismatching chairs and tables scattered about, but it wasn't uncomfortable. The smell of coffee and teas and baked goods filled the air making Kurt's mouth water.

"I'm just surprised the Wizarding World has a coffee shop." Kurt said to Blaine

A blonde barista appeared. "What can I say, I'm a half blood with a love for coffee. Anna by the way."

"Kurt Hummel." He shook her hand briefly before she disappeared to tend to another customer.

Blaine led him over to an empty bar at the front of the shop.

"Anna's the owner of this place. She's like the new Madame Rosmerta - the owner of the Three Broomsticks and the most gorgeous woman in all of Hogsmeade," Blaine told him. "That is, until Anna came."

Only meeting the women for a split second Kurt could still tell why. Anna was tall, tan, leggy, and blonde. With a faint Australian accent, she looked like she should be on a beach somewhere playing volleyball.

Anna reappeared and swatted Blaine playfully. "Oh stop it you."

"This is the first magical coffee house I've been to." Kurt told her.

Anna pulled a nearby stool over and straddled it, propping her elbows on the chair back.

"I'd like to say I'm the first to try it, but that honor goes to my aunt. Though her idea of coffee was awful." Anna pulled a face. "This place used to actually be called Madame Pudifoot's, it was a disgusting sort of place. The romantic kind with kissy-face couples twenty-four seven. During the war my aunt was forced to close down and she never came back. So I took over. Put a modern spin on it, assimilated the worlds, added a touch of Anna, and now I've got myself a nice business."

Another barista walked over and handed them a pair of coffees. "One medium drip and one nonfat mocha."

Kurt stared at Anna. "How did you know?"

"I'm good at reading people."

"That's amazing."

Anna laughed. "Blaine actually told me beforehand."

"So what's the verdict?" Blaine asked, reminding them of his presence.

Kurt took a sip of his coffee and his eyes widened. "I think I'm in love."

Maybe it was the magic but this coffee tasted better than any Starbucks. Kurt guzzled the warm liquid down happily. While Blaine much more civilly drank his, Anna stayed behind and made small talk. Blaine stayed politely quiet to let her and Kurt acquaint themselves.

"I can't imagine how hard it must have been to start a business near such a historic location."

Anna nodded. "I'm just lucky my aunt didn't have any family I had to compete with to get it."

Kurt remembered back to what she said about the place's previous décor. "If you're serious about the pink hearts and confetti, I'm not surprised her kids never wanted it."

"I suppose you'd be right if she had any. Never married. I think she got some sick pleasure out of watching all the couples." Anna stood up and moved the chair back to its original place. "Well, I should be off. It was good meeting your friend Blaine." She waved goodbye and walked off to help another customer.

Kurt turned back to Blaine who was still patiently waiting, now nursing a second coffee.

"She was interesting, in a good way."

Blaine chuckled. "That's Anna."

"Gorgeous too."

"All of the boys try to flirt with her. It's a favorite pastime to watch, especially for me, since even Wes can't resist trying."

The thought of the well put together Wes trying to flirt with a grown women clearly out of his league made Kurt smile.

"So I want to hear about your dad's wedding, since you refused to divulge anything over 'Skype'." Blaine feigned annoyance, but Kurt knew that he had been happy to wait for the details until they could meet in person.

Kurt happily went on to describe the wedding in full detail. Blaine was the perfect audience, laughing and gasping in all of the right places. At the end Blaine showered him with genuine compliments on his wedding planning abilities and Kurt swelled with pride at the praise. He had been very proud of the work he put into the ceremony so it was nice to be acknowledged like that. Not that everyone who had been present at the wedding hadn't come up to him with praise. Finn in particular had declared that the wedding had been just like magic, to which Kurt had winked at Burt, tipping him off that he had indeed used a few minor enchantments.

* * *

It was inevitable really.

Both the school finding out about Karofsky's death threats and the subsequent transfer.

While he was wrapped up in wedding plans and magical schools in faraway lands Kurt had managed to ignore it and continue on. Once Burt found out after the wedding though, the ball was set in motion. One day Kurt was enrolled in McKinley and the next he was being pulled out, Burt was fighting the school, Sue was resigning in protest, and Toni had disappeared through the floo network and had yet to return. The day after that an official letter was sent to the Hummel's by owl. Over the following two days Kurt went on a mad dash to Bree for magical school supplies and was packing his bags. Then Kurt was making sure everything was good to go and saying goodbye to his family and friends before the morning of his official transfer.

"Are you sure you'll be okay at this school?" Burt fussed. "You'll be around strangers and I don't want you to have any problems."

Kurt smiled sadly. "It'll be okay. I already know a few of the guys, and Blaine will be there too."

"Why would Blaine be at Hogwarts?" Burt asked suspiciously.

"He goes there." Kurt said slowly.

"You told me you met him spying on that glee club."

Kurt's eyes widened. He was caught and if he was not going to be living halfway around the globe for the next seven months he would surely be grounded. He figured he might as well just tell the truth and relieve himself of one more lie. "I told you I met him when I went to look at another glee club... Finn filled in the blanks. I actually went to Hogwarts and met him there."

 _"_ _Kurt Elizabeth Hummel!_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Apologies for the Secret Agent!Blaine, Starkid's Little White Lie and Glee's Dynamic Duets will do that to a person...


	6. The Transfer

It had finally arrived - the day Kurt Hummel would be officially leaving for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Only a few days before Toni had flooed all the way to Scotland to speak with the headmistress Professor McGonagall about the possibility of a midyear transfer. At first, everyone involved was skeptical about him being able to comfortably transfer this late in the school year, but thankfully McGonagall had been sympathetic and set everything in order. After he got the confirmation that he was, in fact, going to be a student at Hogwarts, it was up to him to make sure he had everything he would need for the school year. It had been chaos traveling to Bree and trying to find every item on the list of supplies the school had sent him with the letter of acceptance. Upon his arrival home last night many of the New Directions had surprised him with a going away party. There he said his farewells and shed a few tears as everyone said goodbye.

Kurt woke up extra early to make sure all of his things were in the proper bag and nothing had been forgotten. Once that was done he tiptoed downstairs to get some breakfast.

He was surprised to find everyone including Finn waiting for him in the kitchen, breakfast already on the stove. When they saw him enter Carole jumped up and wheeled him to a chair. Kurt looked around, noting the massive pile of bacon in front of Finn. On his father's plate lay half a grapefruit with a side of plain Greek yogurt. Kurt was impressed that he didn't even have to remind him to eat healthy for once. For that, he was grateful to Carole. On his own plate was an English omelet, a small assortment of berries, and a slice of whole wheat toast. It was strange not having been the one to cook breakfast. Even stranger was the somewhat awkward atmosphere. Kurt felt their eyes on him and his head shot up. Burt and Carol averted their gazes.

"Well, dig in!" Carol announced.

Kurt continued to watch them as they picked up their silverware. Finn gave a sleepy moan and felt his way to the pile of heart attack on his plate. Kurt followed his parents lead. While they ate nobody spoke. Once the last scrap of food was gone, Carole began clearing away the table. She kept glancing at Kurt, while Burt openly stared.

Kurt wiped his mouth with a napkin. "What's going on?" He asked.

Carole and Burt shared a look.

"We just wanted to have breakfast together before you're gone."

"I'm not dying. I'll be home for the holidays, and I might even be able come back on weekends sometimes." Kurt said.

Burt cleared his throat. "It's not that, kid. Sure we'll see you a lot, but this is it. Your life is gonna be different from here on out. I dunno what exactly they do at that new school of yours, but I do know you're gonna meet people and make new friends. You'll learn some stuff you never knew before. I never in my wildest dreams thought my son would be - "

"Dad." Kurt warned.

Burt seemed to realize the present company and looked sheepish. The others hadn't noticed the near slip up. "I'm prouda you, kid."

Carole walked over and patted Burt on the back as a comforting gesture. "We both are." She added.

Kurt got on his feet and also went to his dad. Burt wiped his nose before standing and pulling Kurt into a hug, which was quickly joined by Carole.

"No matter what happens, I'll still be your boy, dad." Kurt said once they separated.

"I know that, I just wanted you to know we completely support you."

Kurt nodded and opened his arms for another hug. "Come on Finn." He called back.

A minute went by with no reply. The group looked over to see Finn passed out on the table. They rolled their eyes fondly.

At the door Kurt was hugged and kissed more times than he could count. He certainly didn't feel unloved. Of course, they did have a good reason to be so clingy and they wouldn't be the ones taking him away. That had been one of the first decisions made. They would say their goodbyes at the house, then someone would come in a vehicle and take him to the ministry. That way they wouldn't arouse suspicion from his muggle stepfamily and everything would go much more smoothly. From the ministry he would floo to the Headmistress's office. Kurt only had five minutes before he had to be on the highway, but he couldn't bring himself to push them away.

He gave Burt one last hug with a chuckled, "You're just upset Toni won't be around anymore."

"I love you, kid."

"Love you too."

With seconds to spare he finally stepped over the threshold and headed to the car waiting for him by the curb. He threw the few bags he was taking for now into the trunk, then hopped into the back seat. His driver was getting very impatient.

"You're cutting it close, Kurt." The driver said from the front seat.

Kurt looked up from his cell phone and shrieked, "Toni! What are you doing here?"

Toni grinned at him through the rearview mirror. "Hello to you too. And I offered to drive, I thought it symbolic that I be taking you to Hogwarts - or, you know, the fireplace to get you there. Plus, no one else knew how to drive a stick."

"Why don't we just apparate?"

"Because, you mister don't have your licence for that."

"What about side-along apparition?"

"Shut up and enjoy the scenery."

For whatever reason Toni didn't go to some secluded area where she could activate the invisibility booster. Instead, she drove them to the main highway. The ride was relatively short without any major traffic, so they had enough time to not have to rush. As soon as they made it to the parking lot of the lone factory though she killed the engine and they both scurried out of the car.

"And you won't be needing that where your going." She snatched his iPhone away and shoved it in her pocket.

Kurt gaped at her. Of course he needed his phone. How else was he supposed to keep in contact with his friends, who he told he would regularly text and call?

Toni noticed his face and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't they tell you?" Kurt shook his head. "You can't use cell phones at the school. The signal doesn't work and the magic in the air will ruin anything electronic."

Kurt frowned. "Blaine never said that. How am I suppose to function without internet?"

Tony gave him a twisted smile. "You'll manage."

Kurt was left to mutter about archaic wizards while she pulled his trunks out of the back.

"Come on, let's get going." Toni said

Kurt wanted to slow down so that he could take one last look at the first and only place that connected him to the Wizarding world, but Toni dragged him by the hand at a fast walk. Together they took the elevator down to the underground city, walked all the way to the Ministry, and found their fireplace in one of the office buildings.

"So you just get in and let it take you to Hogwarts, and I'll send these over later. Don't worry, the House Elves will take care if them." Toni spoke quickly. "Okay? Okay. Go."

She shoved a pot of floo powder under his nose. Kurt grabbed a handful of the glittery green stuff.

"Thank you, Toni. For everything." Kurt said earnestly.

"Oh, Kurt!" She pulled him into the hundredth hug he'd received that day. "Now go on, tiger. You don't want to be late."

Kurt stepped into the flames. Toni gave him a thumbs up and mouthed, 'good luck'. Kurt threw the shimmering powder into the flames at his feet and cried, "Hogwarts!"

He felt the familiar, horribly uncomfortable feeling of being sucked down a drain. He forgot to tuck his elbows in and was punished by having them knock against something as he continued to spin and spin. The swirling feeling in his stomach didn't stop until he hit the right grate and landed in the Headmistress's office. Rubbing his elbows, Kurt stepped out of the fireplace rather ungracefully. His hair was sticking up everywhere, his clothes were covered in soot, and he was certain he had lung cancer - but for once in his life he found that he didn't care. He was happy enough to have found the correct office. Across the room Minerva McGonagall was sitting at her desk writing a letter. She hadn't batted a lash when the boy shot out of nowhere.

Professor McGonagall had a very interesting aura about her, like she was both ancient and very young. It was clear that her age was very old but she gave off the impression that she could still handle herself if the situation arose. She also had a kindness about her that was often hidden by a shrewd expression and haunted eyes. Kurt was intrigued to notice all of this the first time he saw the witch in person.

"Good morning, Mr. Hummel." She greeted. "I expect your journey went well?"

"Yes, uh, Professor. Everything went fine." Kurt lied.

Was flooing as bad for everyone as it was for him?

"Excellent." The old woman shuffled some papers, and put them into a neat pile inside of a drawer. She indicated to the seat across from her, which Kurt quickly took.

"Now that you are here," She began. "I shall go over some of the rules and then you will be sorted. Afterwards you may settle into your house and tour the rest of the school. First, as you know, we have a zero tolerance bullying policy. You will be undoubtedly safe during your stay here, and in turn you are expected to hold up that standard yourself."

Kurt nodded.

"The Forbidden Forest is off limits to students, unless otherwise instructed. There is an extensive list of all banned items that can be viewed in the Caretaker Mr. Filch's office."

Kurt nodded again.

"Now for the sorting." The headmistress stood up and walked to the other side of the room to a shelf overflowing with books, boxes , and various trinkets and contraptions. When she returned Kurt's face turned comical as she held out a dingy looking hat. It quickly turned to a very dark look when he was informed that he would have to wear it.

In a desperate attempt to put off the inevitable, Kurt asked about the sorting.

"The sorting is a very proud Hogwarts tradition, dating back hundreds of years." That would explain dirty hat. "There are four houses: Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Whichever house you are sorted into will become your home at Hogwarts. You will eat, board, and regularly attend classes with them. The houses also compete throughout the school year by earning and losing points for various activities. At the end of the year the house with the most points wins the House Cup. Each house has its own Quidditch team that competes for the Quidditch Cup."

McGonagall promptly dropped the old hat down atop his head and stepped back, letting the thing do it's work - whatever that was. The Sorting Hat was very large so that it could comfortably fit on various sized heads, so when placed on Kurt it slid down over his eyes, and all he could see was it's black inside.

Kurt was wondering how the hell this ugly piece of clothing could possibly decide his fate, when a small voice in his ear said, "Hmm... You are here under curious circumstances," Kurt jolted violently at the unexpected voice. The hat didn't give any indication that it noticed and continued speaking, "Plenty of ambition, I see. Not a bad mind either... There's loyalty certainly."

Kurt gripped the edges of stool and repeated Blaine's mantra...

"'Courage', eh? Gryffindor would suit you well... yes, better be Gryffindor." Kurt heard the hat clearly say the last part loud enough for McGonagall to hear.

"I'm sure you'll find Gryffindor House to be very welcoming. Congratulations." The hat was taken off of his head and the headmistress walked to the far side of the room, placing it back on a shelf. Kurt wondered what on earth the seemingly living article of clothing would do up there for the rest of the year. Then McGonagall turned back to him with a soft smile on her face. "Now that that is out if the way, I will summon someone from your house to show you around the grounds."

Kurt exhaled. Hopefully it would be Blaine that would answer the summons; he was, after all, a Gryffindor prefect.

McGonagall pulled out a Galleon similar to the one Kurt had seen Blaine use and tampered with it. When she was finished she stood up and made for the door, beckoning Kurt to follow. She led him to a stone spiral staircase. Kurt made to continue forward, but McGonagall stopped and flung out an arm.

"Lemon Drop." She called.

The staircase began to spin downwards, in a similar fashion to an escalator. McGonagall dropped her arm when the staircase stopped moving. To Kurt's surprise, waiting there were three boys, all clad in black robes that bore Gryffindor crests on the breast pocket. The boy in the middle was gripping the other two by the upper arms. Upon seeing Kurt, their bored expressions changed to excited grins. The middle boy remained stoic. It took Kurt a moment to recognize them. It was Jeff, Wes, and Oliver, respectively.

"I didn't expect you to answer my summons so quickly." McGonagall commented.

"What? Oh!" Wes pulled a shiny Galleon out of his robes and glanced at its surface, apparently reading something there. "Actually I caught these two conspiring with Peeves again - "

Jeff made a noise of protest.

"Don't deny it! But I'm available to help."

"Thank you , Mr. Montgomery - Yes, Mr. Omsen?"

Oliver desperately waved his hands while Jeff gaped his mouth open and shut.

"Spit it out!"

"Oh, sorry! Silencing charm." Wes waved his wand over the two.

"Kurt!" They both cried, leaping at him. Jeff stood slightly angled from Kurt with his arms around his waist. Oliver ruffled his hair teasingly. Had it his hair not already been ruined in the floo network, Kurt definitely would have cursed him.

At the outburst, Wes relaxed his uptight position and swung his arm forward to shake Kurt's hand.

"It's nice to see you again, Kurt." Wes said.

"What are you doing here... again?" Said Jeff.

"Not spying, eh?" Said Oliver.

Wes ignored them and turned away. He asked, "Anyway, what was it that you needed?"

McGonagall looked curiously at the boys. "I was going to introduce you to the new American transfer student," Jeff and Oliver's eyes went wide.

"Say it isn't so!" Exclaimed Jeff. "Oh my Wizard God! Blaine is going to go mental!"

"Alright mate! Good to have you!" Oliver clapped him on the back.

"He will need someone to show him around!" McGonagall had to raise her voice to be heard over the boys' chattering.

"Of course." Said Wes, ever the golden child.

McGonagall walked back to the spiral stairs, then turned to Kurt. "Good luck, Mr. Hummel. You should be very comfortable here at Hogwarts."

Kurt could have sworn he heard her mutter, _'Seeing as you already know half of the student body.'_ before she spun out of view.

"So what now?" Asked Oliver.

"We show him around the grounds of course!" Jeff looped his and Kurt's arms together. "I'm sure we'll see Blaine around here somewhere." He added, glancing around as though Blaine might be hiding behind a plant.

Oliver looped his arm around Kurt's free arm, and the two pulled him along. Wes stood there wide-eyed for a moment before running after them.

* * *

Over the next hour Kurt was shown around Hogwarts by all three Gryffindors, much to the annoyance of Wes. Multiple times the Head Boy 'recommended' that the two boys leave them, but they either never took the hint or simply ignored him. So when that didn't work Wes tried to pawn them off on other students. That backfired when Nick and Liam decided to join them. Then for the better half of the day it was the five Gryffindors showing him around and flooding him with information.

As for the castle, it was huge! There were so many corridors and passageways, hallways that led to secret passages, empty portraits that, when opened, doubled as more secret passages, not to mention dozens of staircases scattered about. It was a wonder anybody knew their way around at all.

The boys didn't have any problems navigating the castle. They took him to most of his classes, telling him many interesting things about them along the way. Some of this information Kurt already knew from the hours he'd spent hanging around with the people of Hogwarts while he was still attending McKinley, but it was nonetheless exciting hearing about it as a student. Jeff, Nick, Oliver, and Liam mostly talked about quidditch and food, and any time they paused to take a breath Wes filled in everything else ("Neville Longbottom recently joined the staff as the Herbology teacher. It was ever so exciting when he showed up at the start of year feast!"). By the time lunch rolled around, Kurt felt he could have fit it all in several very large volumes. When he told them this Wes politely smiled and Jeff and Nick snorted. Wes then informed him that he didn't even know half of everything yet.

They finally took a break while they ate. Wes deposited them at the Great Hall and left to do his head boy duties. Kurt was glad for a moment to take a breather; one hundred and forty-two staircases throughout the entire school were no joke.

As they sat down at the Gryffindor table curious students began piling up and Kurt got to meet some more of his fellow classmates from both his house as well as the others. They all seemed friendly enough and he was happy to meet them. However, the one person he really wanted to see was nowhere to be found. The boys sensed this and set off with him to explore more of the castle as a distraction. Kurt could tell they were equally anxious about Blaine's whereabouts.

The troupe didn't find hide nor hair of Blaine that day, but Kurt nearly forgot about him he was having such a good time. It was surprising how knowledgeable the boys were. With them he not only learned more, but also retained most of it. When they were with Wes, they had chattered about sports and other trivial things, but it was obvious they were holding back in the presence of the Head Boy. Without him it was as though a dam broke.

 _"You just say, 'descendio' and it opens. Easy."_ Oliver told him as they passed a rather ugly witch statue on the third floor.

They made sure to be particularly thorough in their warning of Peeves the school's mischievous Poltergeist that lived to cause mayhem.

 _"Don't ever get caught anywhere near him."_ Liam had said very seriously.

 _"That's what happened to us earlier. We were set up. W_ _e were unlucky - "_

_"Or lucky enough - " Nick cut in.  
_

_"To have Wes find us. It's an instant ticket to the Headmistress' office."_

They also warned him of the kitchens.

_"Be careful not to go alone, especially if you're not on the friendliest terms with the Hufflepuffs. They can get quite territorial."_

Kurt nearly laughed at the last one. Blaine had explained in detail the dynamics of all the houses at Hogwarts, so Kurt knew a bit about the Hufflepuffs. Not to mention how they were often portrayed by others and in history books. It was the look of solemnness on all of the boys faces that kept him quiet.

While they were walking past the greenhouses Kurt got a glimpse of his first professor - Professor Longbottom - the one that Wes had fawned over for the better part of their tour in between introducing Kurt to curious students and overloading him with information.

"That's our head of house Professor Longbottom. I think Wes meant to say that earlier."Nick said in low voice so as not to disturb the professor. "You know, before he started drooling over him."

From the brief glance they had gotten of the man while he flitted between plants Kurt was under the impression that he was quite ordinary, if not slightly clumsier than most people. He deduced this hunch to be untrue if even the twins quiet reverence for the man was anything to go by.

By the time they finished their tour of the greenhouses they were late for dinner. They ran all the way back to the emptying Great Hall just in time to gorge themselves on what was leftover. Supper was a quiet affair, with the twins talking to each other about something seemingly unintelligible, Nick and Jeff exchanging glances, and Kurt thoroughly inspecting everything in the hall. As soon as Liam and Oliver finished eating they bid farewell and left, leaving Nick, Jeff, and Kurt alone at the Gryffindor table. Though it wasn't long when Nick leaned over and whispered something to Jeff before leaving as well.

Kurt watched him go curiously.

"Don't worry about him." Jeff assured him. "He just needed to do something. We'll meet back up in the common room."

* * *

It was getting late, nearly a quarter to nine, when Kurt and Jeff got to Gryffindor tower. By this time all of Kurt's former insecurities about a new school were forgotten.

"This has been fun, but I have about a foot of Defence homework I've been neglecting." Jeff stated sorrowfully.

A pang of guilt twisted in Kurt's stomach when he realized that he had kept him all day. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize. If it wasn't you I would have found other ways to waste time." Jeff stared off into space wistfully. A few seconds later he looked back at Kurt. "Not that your a waste of time."

Jeff pulled a roll of parchment out of his bag along with a book and sat them on the table... then proceeded to stare at them both. While he was 'busy' Kurt entertained himself by getting familiarized with the common room, his new home until June. One thing that he found particularly interesting was the password protected entrance. Every time the portrait hole opened he couldn't help but watch. He probably scared a few first years with his staring, but he didn't pay much attention. Eventually a familiar face walked through it.

"Hello Nick." Kurt greeted.

Jeff finally looked up, slamming his book closed and shoving it off the table as he did so. Without batting a lash Nick picked the book off the floor and set it down in front of Jeff, looking as though he'd been cleaning up after his best friend his whole life (and he probably had). He then sat on the couch beside him.

"I finally did find Mr. Anderson." Nick informed them.

"Yeah? And where was he?" Asked Jeff.

"The one place I pointedly avoided."

"The library?" Kurt said.

"Aye."

Kurt nodded. When he had asked about it during the tour he was told that that was probably the least important room before they took him to the kitchens (after first speaking to the seventh year Hufflepuff prefects of course.)

"Oy! What's he playing at? He can't be bothered to step out of that bloody place for his own boyfriend who transferred for him!"

Kurt flushed. "We're not boyfriends." He mumbled.

Nick and Jeff pretended to appear scandalized.

"Did you hear that correctly Nick?"

"I don't think I did. With how much you take our Blaine time for yourself, there had better be some serious snogging involved."

"You two have been with them their last few coffee dates! When would that have happened?" David's voice asked. Kurt looked over across the common room and saw David sitting in a chair, his face hidden behind a book; he hadn't even noticed him there.

"The coffee dates, yes, but what about the others? Hmmm?" Nick pressed.

Jeff crossed his arms. "We know for a fact Blaine ditched History of Magic a few weeks ago and flooed to Ohoya."

"Ohio." David corrected Jeff from his corner.

Kurt hid his bright red cheeks behind his hands. Jeff and Nick smirked at him. They obviously knew there was nothing going on between their friends but got a kick out of making Kurt blush.

Richard, another Phoenix, looked up from his game of chess. "You should probably look into new suitors, Kurt," His serious face fell into a big grin. "Yours is obviously defective."

David bookmarked his page and then carefully placed the book down, showing his bespectacled face for the first time. Kurt looked at him hopefully, expecting the much more serious boy to set Nick and Jeff straight. Instead he said, "So why isn't he here? Surely an essay isn't so important that he can't nip down here for a bit to see his boyfriend?"

Kurt made a choked noise that was ignored.

Wes chose then to appear and say, "David, stop bullying the poor boy."

David's mouth dropped open and he began sputtering unintelligibly. Nick and Jeff snickered until Wes turned his glare on them and they immediately stopped.

"Honestly though," Richard said joining them. "Where is Blaine? I know he went home yesterday, but since Kurt's here he should be back by now."

"Library." Everyone in the common room answered.

"He was so insistent that I leave," Nick said, mock offended. "I didn't tell him anything."

"Oh. Well he has to go to bed sometime... So how about it Kurt?"

"How about what Jeff?"

"I'll show you the Hogwarts night life, then we can go sneak up on Blaine. It'll be great."

Before Kurt or Wes could disapprove, Nick shouted, "Oy, better idea! We don't tell Blaine anything and see how long it takes."

"Yeah! A friendly wager is in order!"

At the word 'wager' many of the room's occupants perked up and joined the group.

"But - I -" Kurt tried to protest.

Liam and Oliver hopped over the back of the couch and landed on either side of Kurt. They both pressed their fingers to Kurt's lips. "Shh, the adults are talking." Everyone else turned their attention toward Jeff who was speaking.

Wes removed himself from them. "Come on." he mouthed at Kurt, motioning toward the stairs.

Kurt gladly left.

"I'll take you to your room." Wes told Kurt once he caught up. He led Kurt up one set of stairs to a room that was labeled sixth years. "As much as I'd like to ruin the bet and put you in with the fifth years, you'll be sleeping in here."

Wes pushed open the door and let him through first. Inside was a circular room with six beds, all with elegant curtains draped around them. Other than the beds there wasn't much furnishing except for a few desk chairs, but it was nice. It had a very homey feeling to it.

"Your bed's right here next to the window. The bathroom is over there." Wes indicated the door opposite the entrance. "And you've already met two of your roommates, David and Jeff. I should warn you that the others will come in at random times of the night."

Kurt nodded, taking in his surroundings.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. If you need anything tonight David should help you out. I'm afraid if you need anything from me it will have to wait until morning."

"Aren't you - "

"I'm Head Boy. I get my own dorms. I have certain duties that require coming and going a lot; it's less painful for everyone." Wes stopped in the doorway. "Oh, and Nick and the twins also make random appearances, although Nick usually comes bearing much less sinister gifts. No one will blame you if you put enchantments around your bed."

Kurt smiled nervously. "I'm sure it'll be fun."

"Goodnight Kurt."

"'Night."

* * *

The next morning Kurt woke up a little after seven - Hogwart's time. This meant that back at home it was two o'clock in the morning and his circadian clock was still set on Ohio time. The night before he was to leave the U.S he hadn't been able to fall asleep until midnight, and then he had to wake up at four in Lima so that he could arrive at Hogwarts on time. The previous night he had fallen asleep around midnight again, though this time on Scotland's time. It hurt his head trying to add up all of the time changes so he just didn't even think about it. All that mattered was that over the past two days his total amount of sleep accumulated to less than ten hours. He was exhausted.

When he finally forced himself to roll out of bed the other five boys were snoring soundly behind their curtains. He was grateful for this. It was enough having to share a room with someone for the first time - let alone with a bunch of strangers, and _five_ of them at that - the last thing he needed was having to argue with said strangers over bathroom arrangements. He looked around, trying to remember which door led out and which one would take him to a much needed shower. He eventually just picked one and hoped for the best.

Half an hour later, Kurt came out freshly bathed and in his full Hogwarts get up. He had to admit whoever designed these outfits did a decent job. Of course the solid black robe could use some embroidery around the edges, but they would do.

The other boys were still sound asleep when Kurt left the dorm, so he figured he would just wait around in the common room for someone to go to breakfast with. That and he wasn't completely positive he could find the Great Hall by himself yet.

As he suspected, no one was awake yet, or at least not downstairs. This was a good thing because Kurt had slipped down the last step on the hem of his uniform, a downside to the robes. Blushing furiously, he picked himself up and went to one of the couches. He stayed there thinking about everything.

From what he saw the people here were very friendly. They had good food. The uniforms were workable. The castle was not only breathtaking, but also very much like a home away from home. Not mention Blaine Anderson was somewhere in the castle wearing the same Gryffindor crest upon his chest. It was like a dream come true. Sure he missed his New Direction friends and his family, but leaving them was, dare he say it, almost worth it. It wasn't like he was just ditching them to come play wizard. He would see them as often as possible and most certainly mail them daily - well, when he remembered to. Kurt cringed. He had been supposed to owl his father last night. So maybe the Wizarding World was easy to get wrapped up in, but he still loved them with all of his heart. Kurt considered owling them now to make up for it, but quickly dismissed the thought. If he couldn't find the Great Hall there was little to no chance of finding the owlery.

"Morning sunshine!" A voice called from the banister.

Kurt turned to find a half asleep Jeff being dragged down the stairs by Nick.

"How long have you been awake?"

"I've been up since seven."

"I'm an early riser too. Jeff not so much." Said boy slumped into the nearest armchair. "I have to get his lazy arse up every morning." Jeff mumbled something that made Nick huff. "Just because it's Sunday doesn't mean you can't wake up. Besides, now we get to spend all day with Kurt."

Together they managed to convince Jeff to wake up enough to walk himself to the Great Hall. It was a slow journey but eventually they made it to the breakfast table. Along the way Kurt had made a point to watch out for landmarks and things that would keep him from getting lost when it came time to travel on his own. It was difficult when in the bigger halls all there was were the paintings, and those were too innumerable to even try to keep track of. While he had been staring at the paintings there had been a moment he could have sworn he saw one moving, but when he took a closer look it was empty. He attributed the bout of insanity to exhaustion and gave up on looking for familiar portraits.

It turned out that Jeff was a much more pleasant companion once he had food in his belly. After they ate breakfast he was no longer dead to the world and was able to contribute to the conversation. After their stomachs were full of delicious food they left and headed back toward the common room. On the way there Jeff began regaling a tale involving pixies while Kurt and Nick avidly listened.

"It was madness! There were all of these - " Kurt was about to ask why Nick stopped mid sentence, instead he was shoved behind a suit of armor and into a wall. Thankfully his 'McKinley instincts' kicked in and he put his palms out to catch himself.

Nick immediately rushed to help Kurt. "What the hell Jeff!"

Jeff stayed rigid for a moment before rushing to help Kurt up.

"Sorry, mate." Jeff brushed him off, then continued walking like nothing happened. "Anyway, out of nowhere hundreds of little -"

"What was that?" Nick asked suspiciously.

"Hmm?" Jeff looked confused for a moment. "Oh, I thought I saw Blaine."

Kurt looked at him bewildered.

"That's cheating!" Nick shouted.

Soon Jeff and Nick got into a very animated argument involving many ridiculous hand gestures. Kurt stared between them completely bewildered. Luckily, he was saved by Wes. Wes placed a hand on his back and pushed him away from the two, who were beginning to draw a crowd.

"I'll take you back to the common room."

"What just happened?"

"After you went to bed they started pooling bets." Wes explained. "Nick bet that Blaine wouldn't figure out that you're here until Monday. You know, because of classes. David reckoned he'd hear about by this evening. The twins just paid Peeves off to keep his silence. And Jeff said that you would have to tell Blaine yourself, because he's so thick you could stand right in front of him, Gryffindor crest and all, and he still wouldn't believe it. They actually got a good number students in on it."

Kurt marveled at the absurdness of it all.

"What did you bet?" He had to ask.

Wes got visibly uncomfortable and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I left after they let Teddy Lupin bet."

Kurt remembered the young sandy-haired boy he'd met during one of his visits. "Isn't he a first year?"

"That's exactly what I said." Wes said.

They turned the corner and arrived in the same corridor as the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Do you remember the password? Good. I have to go to a meeting, but the git twins go back to the common room after breakfast. That is if they haven't been sent to the Head's office. In which case I'd just hang out in there today. We wouldn't want our new transfer getting lost." Wes patted his shoulder condescendingly. "See you, Kurt."

Before Kurt could fully process what Wes said he was striding away.

"Thanks for saving me!" Kurt called after him.

* * *

It turned out that Jeff and Nick had indeed been sent to the Head's office. They hadn't really gotten in trouble (Professor Longbottom was laid back), but a visit to the Hospital wing was required since Jeff had struck Nick with a weird curse that caused him to sprout antlers. They arrived back to the common room sometime later with their arms around each other and smiles on their faces. Kurt was sitting by the fire reading a book when they walked in.

"Now that that's been dealt with, what do you say to a continued tour of Hogwarts!" Jeff said cheerfully.

And so tour they did. Although, much of it consisted revisiting the same places and then it was cut short by the masses of people introducing themselves or simply saying hello. They didn't even go back to Gryffindor tower until after supper.

"Aren't you the popular bloke!" Nick said back in the common room.

It was true. Half of the school had shook hands with him at some time or another. Still, Kurt wasn't used to the positive attention and so denied it. The three boys walked over to an empty corner and sat down.

"Not really that surprising." Jeff groaned loudly, "Nothing interesting happens any more."

"Jeff! He's coming." Nick muttered.

Jeff threw a nearby blanket over Kurt's head and swung his arms around him to hold it down. "Hi Blaine!" He said casually.

Kurt's heart skipped a beat.

"Jeff," Kurt could just imagine the stern look. "Interesting isn't always good. Er, which is why I'm hesitant to ask."

"Then don't." Jeff said.

 _"Nick._ Who's under the blanket?"

"Thad." Nick answered too quickly.

"Nick, I know for fact that Thad is over there."

"It's the other Thad."

"Guys!" Blaine sounded panicked. "Did you - again?"

"No, no!"

"Oh, Godric Gryffindor, no!"

There was a story there, but before Kurt could say anything Jeff nudged him in the ribs to keep him quiet.

Blaine let out a deep breath. "Don't scare me like that! Uhmm, good night, Jeff. Nick… Thad."

"Night!"

Kurt squirmed, but Jeff kept his grip firm until Blaine was gone. When Jeff's arms slackened the slightest amount, Kurt ripped the blanket off.

"That's the second time today that you've ruined my hair!" Kurt hissed. "And what about your bet? I thought that was cheating."

"Well, think of it like this: If he saw you then neither one of us would win the bet and Thad would have won." Nick explained.

"Anyway this is for kicks." Jeff added, "I mean the bet is still on, but we're just having fun."

"You two at incorrigible." Kurt stalked off toward the stairs.

"Don't be like that!"

"At least wait a few minutes! If he catches you it will have been for nothing."

Entering his dorm, Kurt could still hear them yelling at random. He stripped out of his robes, replacing them with flannel pajamas. The moment his head hit the pillow he was asleep. Tomorrow classes would start. It would be a long day.

* * *

At eleven o'clock many of the boys were still awake despite the curfew. It had been only an hour since Kurt had gone to bed and Wes, David, and Nick had followed shortly afterwards. Jeff was playing a game of Wizard's Chess against Thad, because earlier they'd been reprimanded by the sixth year girls' prefect for playing exploding snap at such a late hour.

"King me." Jeff yawned.

Thad was about to make a counter-move when their game was unceremoniously knocked over. Blaine didn't even stop to apologize. Instead he grabbed a heavy looking text book and then ran out through the portrait hole.

Thad stared after him, while Jeff appeared completely unfazed. "I think it's about time I head to bed." He announced.

"I was about to win." Thad protested.

* * *

Monday morning Kurt woke up the same time he had for the past two days, the only difference being many of his dorm mates were up too. Kurt was the second to last to get in the shower and one of the benefits of attending a magic school become apparent: Unlimited warm water.

He came downstairs squeaky clean and smiling. Nick appeared shortly after.

"Morning mate." Nick greeted. "Ready to go to breakfast?"

"Yeah. Where's Jeff."

"Oh, he usually skips breakfast on Monday's. So it's just you and me."

"Alright." Kurt followed Nick through the portrait hole.

When Nick didn't initiate a conversation, Kurt allowed his eye to wander. He took in the many portraits scattered about the wall. They were so life-like. Wait. Did that one just sneeze? He thought back to the previous morning when he thought he saw one of them move.

"Hey, Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Did that portrait just move?"

"Yeah, they all do."

Kurt stared in wonder. "Wow!" He whispered.

"Wait. So you've never seen a moving portrait?"

"Well in the muggle world they have a thing called videos. Similar concept, but different. So other than the Fat Lady, no I haven't."

"Strange. Did you not notice them before?"

"I guess I wasn't paying attention."

"I reckon Jeff and I were kind of overloading you with information." Nick laughed. "Sorry about that."

"No, it was nice. Some of the things you told me, I had never even known about. Besides it was mostly Wes that went a little overboard."

"Yeah. He tends to get like that. But he's really helpful to first years. When I was a first year the Head Boy was no help at all." Nick said.

The two boys sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table.

"Okay, so what classes have you got today?" Nick asked.

Kurt handed over his schedule.

Nick explained, "I know Jeff's schedule by heart, so I can tell you what classes you have. Though it should be most." He quickly scanned the piece of parchment. "Let's see Divination, free period, lunch, and History of Magic, then you're done for the day. Looks like you're with Jeff all day."

Kurt pulled a face. "Awesome."

"Ouch, Kurt. That hurts." Jeff said, taking a seat beside him.

"No I'm actually glad. I still can't find my way back to the common room."

"Don't worry about it. Nobody expects you to have the entire school mapped after two days." Nick said. "So, you're stuck with this imbecile for a good long while."

"You're just jealous I've replaced you." Jeff retorted.

* * *

Blaine Anderson was having one hell of a week - a month, really.

It was his own fault too. He had gotten so caught up in his friendship with Kurt that he had neglected his other friends as well as his homework. His grades had started slipping at the start of October and he kept having to do extra credit essays at late hours to catch up. When he finally did catch up he began forcing himself to stay ahead of everything and put homework first. It was O.W.L year after all, so he absolutely could not get behind again.

By putting homework first he couldn't be with his friends as much as he liked, which ended up turning into a vicious cycle of trying to make everyone happy. This made it all the more upsetting when David got mad at him and they stopped talking. While he was busy trying to repair that mess he had alienated Nick in the process. Once he realized that he felt bad about the way he treated Nick in the library that one day, but never had the chance to apologize since every time he went near any of his friends they started acting strange.

Over the past weekend he had wanted to leave all of the stress behind, so he went to Ohio for he and Kurt's coffee date and Kurt was nowhere to be found. When he ran into Mercedes and another very loud girl they had told him that Kurt had transferred to some school in New England and then looked at him like he was the crazy one. He didn't have Kurt's cell phone number, had no idea where he lived - Blaine hadn't even thought about asking for either of those things from Mercedes - and Kurt wasn't using his mirror. Apparently he was losing Kurt as well.

Over the past few days while he was trying to get ahold of Kurt in between homework all the Phoenixes suddenly wanted his attention - not to say that was an abnormal occurrence, but it was just at a really bad time!

His morning was shaping up to go just as badly. He woke up to find himself still in the library, his papers all jumbled and out-of-order. Apparently he had fallen asleep doing the two foot long charms essay, which was stuck to his forehead. He organized everything back together and gathered his things, then left to get the day started. It was early, but there was a few early birds loitering in the corridors. It didn't take long to realize that walking past only a few people in his robe and pajamas was much worse than if the halls were packed. This way he got to see each and every smirk and couldn't drown out the sarcastic remarks. Eager to escape the heckling he ducked into the nearest boys' bathroom.

When he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror he cringed. Overgrown, frizzy hair hung limp over baggy eyes, there was a spot of dried drool on his chin, and the carefully pressed silk pajamas were rumpled and askew. It wasn't suprising why everyone had been staring. Blaine Anderson was a prefect. The sight in the mirror before him looked like a hung over bum. Perhaps all of the extracurriculars were finally getting to him. He pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket and ran it under some warm water. As he was bringing it up to his face he heard a faint, "Help."

Blaine froze. He slowly turned his head left, then right. Nothing. He strained his ears.

"Someone? Please?" The voice called from the direction of the utility closet.

"Rory?" He asked in that direction, tilting his head slightly.

"Is that you Blaine?" The voice said more brightly. "Can I get a hand?"

Blaine slowly approached. His hand hovered over the wand in his pants at the ready in case something was off. What sounded like a hand thumped against the door. Blaine reached forward and yanked the door open, jumping out of the way. Rory Flanagan looking a little worse for wear but seemingly unharmed met him and he relaxed.

"Thank you. I've been trying to get someone's attention all morning."

"No problem? But, what happened?"

"I was taking a walk this morning, stopped by the kitchens to grab a bite and I was grabbed. They took my wand and carried me here. I dunno - " Rory cut himself off. He walked into one of the stalls and pulled his wand from a toilet. "Here it is." Rory sat down in front of one of the sinks and began wiping his wand on the hem of his robes. He looked up at Blaine and blinked. "Why are you still in your P.J's?"

"That's not important." He quickly changed the subject, "Was it the other Slytherins who did this to you?"

"No. Most of the guys in my dorm are nice and stick up for me. It was a couple of Hufflepuffs."

Blaine did a double take. "Oh my gosh."

"Anyway, thanks for letting me out." Rory picked himself off of the floor, shook Blaine's hand, and left.

Blaine shook his head disbelievingly. It seemed he wasn't the only one having a rough morning. He began wiping his face off while bemoaning the fact that he let his stubble grow in. While he was doing this Cameron James, a Slytherin and fellow Phoenix, appeared soon after. He stopped in front of Blaine and took in his appearance.

"Blaine?"

He rolled his eyes. "How many other American teenage boys hang around here?"

Cameron raised his brow. "I take it you haven't met the transfer."

"What?"

"I swear Blaine, you live under a rock. Where have you been for the past three days?"

"Library." Blaine answered. "Have you met the transfer?"

"You could say that." Blaine didn't like the way he smirked after that, it was like he was in on something that went way over Blaine's head, and Blaine really didn't like being out of the loop.

"Is there anything else you'd like to share?"

"No." Cameron gave himself a once over in the mirror. "By the way you have something on your chin. Did you know?" He told Blaine before leaving. Blaine followed him out into the hall, momentarily forgetting his state of dress, and walked straight into a crowd of people. It was deadly silent for a beat, and then the hall erupted in whispers and laughter. Blaine's eyes widened and he attempted to hide himself behind the door.

"Cameron!"

Cameron continued on his merry way, head thrown back in a delighted cackle.

" _Who is it!_ " He yelled. He opened his mouth again and yelled -

"Tell me!" A familiar Head Boy's voice rang out.

Blaine clapped a hand over his mouth. _I sound like Wes... I'm turning into Wes._ His eyes widened comically. With his hands still clamped over his mouth, he strode off toward Gryffindor tower.

* * *

"Ready?" Jeff asked after they finished eating.

"As I'll ever be."

"And off we go. Divination!" Jeff said with false excitement.

Kurt was so nervous he was almost shaking. This would be his first time attending an actual class in the Wizarding World. On the way there, which was a very long walk, Jeff told him a little about the subject, explaining that he it was really unnecessary to have an O.W.L in the subject to study N.E.W.T's. They arrived at the North Tower where Jeff directed him toward a ladder in the ceiling.

Inside the classroom a number of circular tables were crammed, all surrounded by chintz armchairs and fat little pouffes. Everything was lit with dim, crimson light; the curtains at the windows were all closed, and the many lamps were draped with dark red scarves. It was stiflingly warm, and the fire which was burning under the crowded mantelpiece was giving off a heavy, sickly sort of perfume as it heated a large copper kettle. The shelves running around the circular walls were crammed with dusty-looking feathers, stubs of candles, many packs of tattered playing cards, countless silvery crystal balls and a huge array of teacups

As it turned out he needn't be nervous. Divination was probably one of the silliest classes ever. The teacher Professor Trelawney looked like a big, glittery bug. By the end of the lesson Kurt was sure of two things: the teacher smoked weed in there and she was a fraud.

"Jeff? Jeff!" Kurt shook his partner.

Jeff started. "Waz goin' on?"

"You fell asleep. Class is over."

"I didn't fall asleep." Jeff groggily replied.

"We have a free period next hour, you can sleep then. This place gives me the creeps."

Jeff nodded. "Let's get out of here."

The remainder of the day was easy, something Jeff warned him he shouldn't get used to. Kurt wasn't too sure whether he should believe Jeff as he was obviously very accustomed to sleeping. It was ridiculous. When they first walked into Trelawney's classroom, Jeff had grabbed a blanket and found a spot in the back. During free period he briefly crashed on a sofa in the common room. While Jeff was resting, Kurt found Thad doing homework in the corner and they chatted for a bit. Thad told him that Jeff was probably catching up on lost sleep from the weekend when they were showing Kurt around. This made Kurt feel guilty. His face must have showed it, because Thad waved it off, informing him that Jeff's has been losing sleep for weeks. ("Starting fifth year schoolwork really starts getting tough. You probably got lucky today. I'm sure tomorrow will be worse.") Kurt went into the the conversation cheerful, needless to say that wasn't the case leaving it.

The next class they went to was History of Magic. Kurt had heard some rumors during his brief time at the school. Apparently it was taught by a ghost. When he heard that bit he figured the class couldn't possibly get old. Everyone assured him that wasn't the case. He could tell that within the first few minutes. Professor Binns droned on and on, not stopping for anything. Kurt was sure he could hold a pep rally in there and the ghost wouldn't bat a lash. Any double History of Magic would likely kill him. That train of thought got him wondering if that wasn't how Binns had died.

After the day was over Kurt was glad to have had such an easy schedule his first day.

He still hadn't had the chance to talk to Blaine, though he had seen him. It had only been for a second after lunch that he saw the other boy exiting the Great Hall; Blaine had appeared to be in a dreadful hurry somewhere at the time so Kurt had not bothered him.

* * *

"What's on the menu today?" Jeff muttered the next morning at breakfast as he looked through the schedule. "Well, good news! Looks like we're taking the same N.E.W.T' s, so we have all of our core classes together."

Kurt took a look at his schedule: Charms, Potions, lunch, Muggle Studies, and Herbology.

Charms was fun and not too difficult; they practiced summoning charms. Potions was stressful, hard, and only slightly traumatic, and all they did in there was a simple draught to cure a cold. And lunch, well lunch was delicious; Kurt ate steak and kidney pudding with a side of fried tomatoes. After his morning, any doubts about how difficult classes would be were long gone. His first two classes alone were more work than he did in a day back home. He had already been assigned two essays and practice.

So maybe he would need to brush up on his studies and possibly enlist one of his new friends as a tutor, but the day wasn't a total waste; between classes he did manage to briefly slip away from Jeff and track down one Teddy Lupin to discuss certain business with. Once he finished with that he slipped back and, like the day before, walked with Jeff to lunch where they sat with Nick.

"Hey, Kurt. next period I have Arithmancy instead of Muggle Studies, but I can take you to the class if you'd like."

"Are you sure, your class isn't even on the same floor. I don't want to get you in trouble."

Jeff waved away his concern. "It's fine. The teacher's alright, she won't get angry if I was helping another student."

Kurt looked doubtful.

"If it means that much, then I can just take you to the correct corridor." He offered.

"Yeah, okay." Kurt agreed.

Jeff walked Kurt to the right floor and gave him instructions ("turn right, then down four doors"). Kurt was grateful when he carefully followed them and saw a group of students gathered at the door. Before he got there the professor opened the door and the students began filing in... with the exception of one who started a conversation with the professor. Kurt stopped in his tracks. Blaine Anderson?

He had Muggle Studies with Blaine?

Kurt held his head up and moved forward. As he was about to go through the doorway he suddenly said, "Hey Blaine.", and continued through.

"Hello - Kurt?" Blaine did a double take. "Excuse me Professor Tesla."

Kurt continued walking to the back of the room where he spotted an open seat. Blaine hurried after him.

"Kurt! Kurt!" He called. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello to you too." Kurt smirked. "And if you must know... I go here!"

"What?" Blaine replied dumbly.

"Hogwarts. School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Blaine looked completely shocked for a moment. For a moment Kurt feared that he might have broken his best friend. Blaine shook his head, then pulled him into a short hug. "I - wow!" He laughed. "When did - when..."

"Friday afternoon."

Blaine pulled Kurt's chair out for him and took his own seat, his attention immediately turned back to Kurt. "So wait - "

"Nick, Jeff, and Wes have been helping me."

Blaine looked like he'd suffered a betrayal. If he weren't already seated he probably would have had to sit down. As it was, he slumped back in his chair. "So they knew?"

"I'd assume so, they did show me around."

"This is... " Blaine blinked. He finally managed to get out a "Wow!", again.

"Yeah, the castle is pretty great. And don't get me started on the food!"

After the shock wore off Blaine questioned Kurt on everything he'd done since his arrival. Kurt happily told him all about meeting McGonagall and getting sorted, and Jeff, Nick, Wes, Oliver, and Liam showing him every nook and cranny of the castle and how they already introduced him to many of his other classmates. Blaine was annoyed that literally the whole school was in on the 'secret' for three days and more than a little put out that he wasn't the one to show Kurt all of these things.

The one thing that Kurt did omit was grounds for this sudden transfer. He didn't want to spoil the magic by brining it up and adding a villain to the fairytale his life was rapidly transforming into. Maybe one day he would tell him, but for the time being he wished to allow the negative aspects of his old life to become a distant memory. Besides, Blaine never once asked about it, so it technically wasn't lying on his part not to mention it and Kurt liked to think that the boy silently understood and let it slide.

The professor shushed the boys and they put a hold on their conversation in favor of taking notes. Once those were finished there was nothing to distract Kurt from Blaine again. He really did try to pay attention to his work, but it proved to be a much more difficult task than initially thought. Not only was Blaine staring at him most of the class, his presence was enough to be a distraction, and he kept passing Kurt notes as well.

After class Kurt practically had to beg Blaine not to walk him to Herbology ("your class is on the other side of the school!"). Blaine reluctantly agreed. However, when Kurt walked _ou_ t of Herbology Blaine was resting against the greenhouses looking out of breath.

"Blaine." Kurt groaned. "Wait, how did you get all of the way over here?"

"Being a prefect has its perks." Blaine answered cryptically.

Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"I told Professor Flitwick that I was helping a new student around."

Kurt didn't smile. Blaine looked so hopeful and puppy-like that it broke Kurt's heart to do this, but he and Blaine really needed to have a serious conversation about Blaine's penchant for dropping everything for him. Not only was it sweet, but unhealthy too. "Blaine, as sweet as it is you can't just keep ditching classes for me. Why didn't you tell me you cut class to come to see me after - " Kurt lowered his voice. "You know what?"

Before Blaine could answer Nick appeared around the corner and ran up to them.

"Kurt! Kurt! Why didn't you wait? I had to -" Nick suddenly took notice of Blaine. "Oh, brilliant, it's you!" He groaned.

"I love you too, Nick."

Nick ignored him. "I take it he knows then?"

Blaine pretended to think hard. "Yeah.

"Damn." Nick swore. "When did you find out?"

And the interrogation began.

"Right after lunch."

"Did you tell, Kurt?"

"First of all, I'm not answering that. Second, we had the same class."

"Did he tell you Blaine?"

"Don't answer that." Kurt commanded.

Blaine obediently clamped his mouth shut. For the rest of the walk back to Gryffindor tower the group was eerily silent, with Nick giving them death glares and Blaine looking confused. Back at the common room they found Jeff playing cards with Oliver and Liam.

"Hey - oh, it's you."

"My friends." Blaine said to Kurt.

"Yeah, they had Muggle Studies together. And Kurt won't tell me who won the bet." Nick accused.

A look of realization dawned on Blaine's face that was soon replaced by annoyance at having been unwittingly swindled into yet another one of his classmates schemes.

"Because it was stupid and I refuse to be so apart of it."

"Kurt, do you want to be the one to tell twenty-four students that you won't announce a winner?"

"Twenty-four?" Blaine asked.

The portrait hole opened to reveal a group of second years.

"Hey, Kurt!" Teddy Lupin's voice rang out.

Kurt tried to give the boy a not now gesture to no avail; Teddy was already next to him.

"Hey squirt." Blaine tousled his hair.

"Hi, Blaine." Teddy turned to Kurt and handed him two pouches. "Here's your half and the winner's. Wes gave it to me before dinner. He seemed upset. I reckon he was hoping to keep it. Bye!" Teddy waved, and then returned to a group of his fellow classmates who had been watching him speak to the upperclassmen in awe.

"Your share?" Nick asked. "I thought you didn't take part in childish wagers."

Liam and Oliver folded their arms over their chests, somehow looking both annoyed and mildly impressed.

"Look at the little lion who thinks he's a snake." Liam whistled.

Kurt pretended to have no idea what they were talking about. He turned around and headed toward the stairs. "By the way," He said, turning around. "Jeff." When Jeff looked over a grin was quite literally smacked onto his face when one of the pouches flew out of Kurt's hand and hit him squarely on the forehead. Jeff held the prize money up looking like he'd won Minister for Magic. Everyone else in the room who had been in on the bet glared at him.

Without another word Kurt sauntered up the stairs.

* * *

Wednesday turned out to be a lovely day.

The weather warmed up giving the students one last sunny day before a cold front was to blow through in the following weeks. The sun was shining. The birds that had yet to migrate were chirping. And rather than having to wait around for Nick to pull Jeff out of bed Blaine was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs when he entered the common room.

"Hello." Blaine beamed.

"Good morning." Kurt smiled back.

For the first time it was Blaine who took him to breakfast.

They didn't speak much while they headed to Muggle Studies for first period and were content to enjoy the comfortable silence. They were among the first to arrive and sat down in the back next to each other again. It wasn't until the professor directed them to open their books that Kurt recalled their interrupted conversation the day before.

Kurt leaned over and whispered. "You know, you're still not off the hook for yesterday when Nick interrupted."

Blaine's face fell.

"Blaine, you can't just ditch for me no matter what's going on."

Blaine looked flustered. "I know. I know. When I got your letter about what happened I felt terrible. I couldn't just stand back and do nothing, not when it was my bad advice that got you in an even worse situation. So I won't apologize for it because I know you needed me." He said firmly.

Professor Silvia closed the blinds. At the front of the room an ancient projector lit up pictures of muggle appliances.

"It was sweet." Kurt smiled. "Just tell me you won't do it again."

"I can't make any promises," Blaine looked right into his eyes. "Except that whenever or wherever you need me I'll always be there no matter what I have to do to get there."

Blaine took Kurt's hand in his and squeezed. This was the first time Blaine's hand had held his like that since that fateful day on the staircase. The skin to skin contact added with the way Blane was looking at him nearly made Kurt shiver. Two minutes later, when everyone else began taking notes, Blaine showed no signs of releasing his hand and Kurt started to panic. Naturally Blaine didn't notice anything out of the ordinary and continued to take notes like everyone else. If Kurt had been able to write then perhaps the rest of the hour might have been a little easier, but the thing was Kurt's right hand was trapped in Blaine's. It was a huge struggle, consisting of Kurt deciding on whether to continue holding Blaine's hand or to let go. On one hand, he really liked the feeling of their fingers intertwined. On the other, if he were to write his notes then working could serve as a distraction and maybe he wouldn't be ogling at Blaine every few seconds. It was almost funny that a friendly comforting gesture would cause so much inner turmoil.

At the end of the class period the bell rang and Blaine _finally_ let go so that he and Kurt could load up their bags. Kurt breathed a sigh of relief and his breathing turned normal again. He dumped his books in his messenger bag and waited for Blaine to carefully put all of his things away neatly. Blaine then grabbed his hand again and lead him away. On the way to Kurt's next class, Blaine started talking about some mythical birds. Kurt heard none of this as he was openly gaping at their hands. He didn't even chastise Blaine for going miles out of his way to drop him off.

When they reached Kurt's next class Blaine let go with a smile and walked away. Kurt watched him go.

* * *

Upon the discovery of Kurt's transfer Blaine felt much more relaxed. It was easier to go on with his day knowing that Kurt wasn't in any danger - well, not from closeted jocks at least, no one could be spared from the normal Hogwarts drama and general mayhem.

He even made amends with David by cornering him in an empty common room. David was reading a book by the fire after everyone had gone to bed when Blaine walked right in front of him. Upon noticing David started and dropped his book.

Blaine wore the most pathetic pout as he said, "I'm sorry for my recent behavior. I wasn't thinking and it was crazy to run off to another country like that without talking to anyone. Please accept my apology?""

David stared at him for a moment before motioning Blaine to take a seat. "No. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I was just worried and I didn't want you getting hurt or in trouble again after what happened the last two years. I thought - "

Blaine let out an uncomfortable chuckle. "Say no more. I understand."

"Thanks."

Even with how understanding David was being Blaine still felt like he needed to explain himself. "It's just Kurt was having problems at his school that hit close to home. And not just that, when I met Kurt it was strange, but I felt like something was telling me that we were meant to know each other. Like I needed be friends with this person. Does that make any sense?"

"Not at all." David laughed. "But, I get it."

"Mates?"

"Definitely."

* * *

The second weekend of Kurt's stay at Hogwarts McGonagall came to see how he was getting on. He was in the entrance courtyard with Blaine and Oliver. Since it was November and very chilly they were wrapped up in thick scarves as well as earmuffs and gloves. To further keep warm they huddled around a bluebell flame being kept in a jar while they studied. Naturally, Oliver was the first to notice the old teacher approaching; he immediately tucked away his book and made up an excuse to leave.

"Hello professor." Both Blaine and Kurt greeted.

While Blaine sounded confident and at ease as always, Kurt's voice wavered. As always the woman had an air of foreboding about her: Professor McGonagall always made Kurt feel as though he'd done something wrong every time he saw her.

"I was nearby and I wanted to inquire about how you are getting on here Mr. Hummel." Kurt let out a sigh of relief. "I expect everything has gone smoothly?"

"Of course, professor. Everything's amazing." Kurt answered earnestly.

"Good. I also wanted to speak with you regarding any return trips home, you as well Mr. Anderson." At his mention Blaine looked up from his book and gave the teacher his full attention. "I would prefer it if you informed me if you ever wish to visit home on the Holidays. As you probably know; it is dangerous to use the floo network over such a long distance unsupervised," Kurt resisted the urge to catch Blaine's eye. Blaine, however, had no qualms about openly gaping at him. McGonagall, of course, took notice. "So I ask that you only use the fireplace in my office and under staff supervision." She gave both of them a meaningful look.

Both boys nodded mutely.

"Good day." With that she turned on her heel and left, probably to scare the living daylights out of other students.

For a split second after she left both boys were frozen, then they simultaneously looked at each other and grinned guiltily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So I've had this up on FFN for weeks, but I kind of forget about S&C and AO3. Whoops. I am so sorry.
> 
> Sorry (not sorry) for placing Kurt where I did and having many of our Phoenixes in that particular house. I know many people are hellbent on the Slytherin!Kurt and Hufflepuff!Blaine, so I hope it doesn't bother you too much. Honestly I could see Kurt fitting in most houses. The 'courage' theme just really ties into this story, which also happens to be Gryffindor's motto. I assure that not everyone is in Gryffindor, far from it, and you'll see as I introduce more characters. I seriously debated where I would place everyone when I came up with the idea and I changed them a million times (I nearly split up Liam and Oliver at one point), but I'm happy. I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> *Hint, hint - next chapter involves quidditch!


	7. Quidditch

There were still things Kurt didn’t know about the school, but he was learning.

At least his ignorance was entertaining for his friends. The boys had found it particularly amusing when Kurt wandered around the entire second week confused as to why they called Nick nearly headless. They all had a good laugh when they finally introduced him to the ghost and Kurt screamed his head off. After the shock wore off, Kurt was able to laugh as well.

However, after that experience, Kurt opted to only ask ghosts and fellow Gryffindors as a last resort.

* * *

 

At breakfast Blaine sat with Kurt as was usual. The only thing different was that Jeff, Nick, and the twins were nestled away from everyone. Their voices were low, and they spoke with their heads together.

"What's with them?" Kurt asked.

Blaine's eyes flitted over to the four silent boys, regarding them with suspicion. He watched them for a moment with narrowed eyes and then suddenly turned back to his breakfast.

"Quidditch." He answered simply, as though that one word explained everything.

Blaine went back to carefully cutting his steak and Kurt tried to make sense of the bits of conversation that were floating over from the boys. Kurt had of course heard of quidditch and knew it was some sort of sport in the wizarding world, but he was as knowledgeable about it as Jeff was about the concept of television – which was to say not very knowledgeable. What exactly happened during quidditch? And why did everyone in the Wizarding World make it out to be an even bigger deal than football was to muggles.

Midway through lifting the fork to his mouth Blaine noticed the confusion on Kurt's face.

"Jeff, Nick, and the twins are on Gryffindor's team." He explained. "They're up against Hufflepuff tomorrow. Usually an easy team to beat, but they got a new chaser this year. He's really good."

"Chaser?" Kurt said quizzically.

Blaine mirrored his puzzled expression. "Have you never seen a quidditch match before?"

"No. My mentor tried to explain it to me a few times, but I always zoned out or left the room when she brought it up."

"I can explain it a bit before the game tomorrow if you like." Blaine offered.

It wasn’t very likely that he’d pay attention anyway, but regardless he shrugged and said, "Okay.”

… A bit was really understating it.

The second they left the table, Blaine dove into an animated, not-so-brief overview of the sport.

_"There's the keeper, three chasers, two beaters, and a seeker. Then there are four balls: two bludgers, a quaffle, and the snitch. Got it?"_

Blaine managed to lose Kurt somewhere between broomsticks and scarves. He tried to keep up, he really did try, but it was all terribly confusing. He ended up smiling and nodding while staring at Blaine's lips move. It was a happy moment for Kurt when they finally parted ways for class. It seemed under all those layers of good fashion sense and dapper smiles Blaine was truly a boy.

The next time they met up was before lunch and Blaine instantly picked right back up where they left off. Kurt hadn't the heart to tell him he wasn't all too interested. Ironically, Kurt’s savior ended up being Gruffindor’s quidditch captain.

Blaine only stopped midway through his explanation about some cup when the tall seventh year boy took a seat near them. Kurt recognized the boy as Andrew Watson – Gryffindor team captain and chaser.

"Hey, Drew." He greeted.

"Blaine." Watson nodded in his direction. He turned away from them and loudly called down the Gryffindor table, "Everybody in!"

The rest of the team reluctantly dropped their spoons mid-bite to scoot down the bench toward the huddle.

Watson leaned in and said quietly, "Now you all know that Hufflepuff has got a Chaser, Hill –“

"Hall." Kurt instantly corrected.

Watson glared at him for eavesdropping, but the other boys gave him curious looks.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I'm not deaf. Evelyn wouldn't shut up about how hot he was _'and a quidditch player.’"_

"Well she wasn't wrong." Blaine said. “He likes to work out shirtless too.”

Watson shouted, "I don't care if his abs have abs!" There was a noticeable drop in the great hall's usual noise. Watson ran his hands down his face and continued, "Unless it affects his catching abilities –”

"Blaine and Kurt aren't even on the team so they can still ogle him all they like." Oliver pointed out with a wink in their direction.

"He's good, that's all that matters!"

"Good?" Nick said incredulously.

"He's a God!" Jeff said. "Er, you know, for a Hufflepuff and all."

"Whatever, he's still got a weakness. I found out that a few years ago he broke his right arm –”

"First, stalking isn't cool Watson."

"And second, how is that relevant?"

"He's a muggleborn.” Watson’s face lit up like muggleborns were suddenly the greatest thing ever. “It was a nasty break and he had to wear a cast for six months. It still gives him problems every now and then. Remember that. And Hufflepuff may have gotten a new VIP but their beaters are still having issues, they can hardly cooperate with one another."

Nick grinned. “Aren’t you glad Jeff and I aren't like that?"

"If you behaved like they do I would personally beat you with your own bat."

"Then it's a good thing we don't plan on it."

"There's one more thing. I was going to wait until we're in the locker rooms, but I can't."

Everyone that heard leaned in. Watson gave a nearby group of girls an annoyed look but continued.

"I was walking around the second floor and I happened to overhear –”

“– that what you call hanging around in the staff room's cabinet?"

Watson was too excited to get onto Liam. He blurted out, "McGonagall confirmed that Harry is coming to watch!"

The table erupted in excited chatter.

"What!"

"Harry never goes to matches anymore." Oliver said suspiciously.

"Well he's coming to this one." said Watson.

"Merlin! Now we have to win!"

Kurt turned to Blaine and asked, "Who's Harry?"

Everyone that heard went silent and stared.

"Who's Harry?" Wes said, aghast.

"Harry? _The Harry?_ "

"Guys calm down. He's from the Muggle world," Blaine looked at Kurt. "It's okay, I'll explain that too."

Kurt's stomach dropped. If he had to listen to another rant on some vague quidditch player, he might need to borrow Jeff’s bat for himself.

"I can't believe you don't know who Harry Potter is." Nick shook his head.

"Wait, Harry as in Potter. That Harry?"

"Obviously.” David and Wes said, looking unimpressed.

"Why didn't you say so? Oh my god, he's coming here to Hogwarts?"

"He did used to go to school here."

"And he's not coming," Watson said. "He is _here_. Arrived this morning, he's probably in Longbottom's office."

"Whoa Kurt, you're not going to hunt him down are you?"

Kurt was in a daze. "I can't believe I'm going to be in the same stadium as him. In close proximity to a Potter."

Some snorted at this.

Watson shrugged. "You're in the presence of a Lupin every day and he's basically Harry's son. Speaking of, where is that little bugger. . .?”

Kurt's jaw dropped. "What?"

"He’s his Godson Why do you think Harry's coming anyway? He wouldn't miss Teddy's first game."

"Lupin as in Teddy Lupin?"

"How many times are we going to go through this?" Watson huffed.

At this time said second year entered the Great Hall, promptly smacking into the doors before staggering to the end of their table and collapsing into a seat.

"Please tell me Teddy has more grace in the air than he does on his own feet." Kurt sighed.

"TEDDY!" Watson shouted and motioned the boy over.

The team shielded their ears and glared at their captain.

"You're part of the team too. We're talking tactics." Watson told Teddy once he took a seat.

The quidditch boys and Blaine continued their team discussion. At that point Kurt zoned out, having had enough sports talk for the day.

Kurt couldn't help but glance at Teddy every so often. At every covert glance, Kurt took in details of the boy like he was really seeing him for the first time. He had sandy hair, dark twinkling eyes, some freckles here and there. Except for something he couldn't quite put his finger on, Teddy was very ordinary.

He wondered who his parents were. After all they must be very influential or rich for them to have named Harry Potter as their child's godfather. One didn't simply do that unless they were that or family. He didn't know much about the Potter's other than what Harry Potter looked like, and judging from Ginny Potter's side of the family, Teddy couldn't possibly have come from there.

After Watson disbanded the team meeting most of the boys stayed and talked, while the rest scattered throughout the hall, Teddy among them. He went back to the end of the table with only a book for company, and read while scooping pudding into his mouth between every page turn. At the end of breakfast he grabbed his things and left. Kurt's eyes followed him out.

"Kurt?"

Kurt snapped back into reality where Blaine was looking at him.

"You're staring. You're not going to start following Teddy around like a fangirl, are you?"

Kurt flushed in embarrassment; he didn't even realize he was staring. "Of course not. I'm just shocked is all."

"It's always surprising how many people don't know that. Then I suppose it's not like Teddy actually lives with him, and I'm sure Harry tries to keep him away from the press."

"Sorry, I – why doesn't Teddy have any friends?" Kurt felt a little uncomfortable asking such a question, but his curiosity was too great. Anyway, many of the Hall's occupants were leaving or too immersed in their own conversations to care.

Blaine furrowed his brow.

"I don't – I don't mean to pry or anything." He said quickly. "He just looks lonely."

Blaine's expression softened. "Ah,” was all he said. He stood up and motioned for Kurt to follow him out.

They walked at a leisurely pace in silence until they were out on the grounds. Kurt felt more and more awkward about his question.

"I wouldn't say he has no friends. That would be an incredibly wrong assumption, especially considering the size of his family. He just doesn't really have many close friends at the school. You know?"

"Yeah. I mean it when I say I don't mean to pry, but he really does look lonely, it's just not so obvious." Kurt babbled. "I feel sort of bad about it. Am I being totally creepy right now?"

Blaine smiled. "It's sweet that you care. I mean genuinely. Last year when he first came here, he was the shiny new toy to play with. Then when he kept to himself and didn't tell people all of these crazy stories about the Great Harry Potter they got bored. Besides that, a lot of the kids his age don't understand a lot of things, like people our age still don't. Harry's a pretty smart guy; it's definitely rubbed off on Teddy, who is beyond his years in some ways. That in itself makes it hard. Most kids just don't understand some things the way Teddy does. He's a little more sensitive to those subjects because he's been talked to about them, among other things."

"Well, thanks for putting up with my stupid questions and complete ignorance of simple magical concepts.”

"Its fine, it’s not like it's a huge secret,” Blaine admitted. “But still, it’d be appreciated if you didn’t go talking about this to everyone.”

"My lips are sealed."

After their conversation, Blaine took him to a spot underneath a willow tree that overlooked the Great Lake. Neither of them had class so they just sat there for a while, admiring the scenery.

Kurt was grateful for Blaine telling him about Teddy, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was still missing something; there were too many holes in his words to be dismissed. However, he let it go. It was none of his business no matter how curious it was.

The day of the first quidditch match of the year arrived – Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff – and everyone was excited.

All over the school people were holding up banners and doing other little things to support either house. Students had divided themselves between the two houses and sported either yellow and black or burgundy and gold. For the most part, Slytherins sided with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw with Gryffindor. Kurt himself was wearing a Gryffindor rosette attached to his yellow and burgundy scarf. The scarf was borrowed from Blaine and the rosette was forced upon him by the twins. He had only ended up accepting it when they said they would leave. ("You’ll be lucky if we don’t paint your face when you’re sleeping!")

Besides the ridiculous number of fashion faux pas done in the name of school spirit, some of the more creative people enchanted the banners to make noise or flash colors. Kurt found the whole thing very intriguing having never been at a divided school before now, and a magic one at that.

The Great Hall was filled with enthusiastic chatter when Kurt strolled in with Jeff.

David spotted the pair and shooed Blaine further down the bench so they could sit.

“Look who finally got out of bed.” Blaine bumped shoulders with Kurt in greeting.

Kurt rubbed his eyes blearily. “‘Morning."

He was answered with a few mumbled hellos.

“Good _afternoon_ , Kurt.” Blaine teased.

“Whatever. It’s Saturday.” Kurt said. “What’s their deal?”

"Don't mind them, They won't stop acting like trolls until they've won." said Blaine.

David poked Oliver with his wand experimentally. Oliver grunted in response.

Blaine’s lips twitched. "See?"

"Speaking of quidditch, when do we go down to the stadium?"

Blaine pushed up his robe sleeve to check his watch. "We've got at least an hour, so take your time."

Kurt looked over the table’s many dishes and inhaled deeply. His mouth watered as he grabbed a bowl of porridge topped with strawberries. With a delighted groan, he lifted up a spoonful to his lips. As he did so Teddy dropped into the seat across the table and he promptly dropped the silverware.

Teddy was wearing a cheerful grin and a Gryffindor scarf and quidditch robes. His clothes weren’t the only things red and yellow. His hair was a deep burgundy, which would have been fine had it not been complemented by bright yellow eyebrows. Kurt seemed to be the only one aghast.

He was on the verge of crying out, _"Teddy what have you done!"_ However, Blaine spoke before he could do so. "Nicely done, Teddy." He ruffled Teddy's atrocious locks. "Is that new?"

Kurt blinked. _Was he serious?_

Teddy bounced in his seat excitedly. "Yeah. I perfected it last week. It's a funny story actually."

The twins actually snapped out of their quidditch-induced trance long enough to high-five the boy. "Alright mate!" They praised him.

"Hey, if you figure out how to transform into a lion you could be our mascot!" Jeff suggested.

Teddy gave him a doubtful look. "I think I'll pass."

Kurt finally found his voice. "Teddy where did you get the stuff to do that?"

Teddy looked at him blankly. "Do what?"

Kurt gestured to his hair and eyebrows emphatically. Blaine alone seemed to understand his confusion.

"Oh! Teddy here is a metamorphmagus, he can change his appearance at will."

Kurt's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

"Here, I'll show you." Teddy screwed up his face. His nose elongated and flattened a little before going back to normal. Afterwards, he appeared a bit put out, as though it had meant to be more impressive. "I'd have done something a little more obvious, but I don't want to risk my eyebrows not changing back." He said, his eyes flitting about dishonestly.

Nonetheless, Kurt was deeply impressed. "Wow." He breathed.

Teddy sighed and dropped his chin into his hands. "I meant to do a duck face."

Kurt snickered a bit at his word choice. Beneath the table Blaine lightly bumped his knee against Kurt’s making him press his lips firmly together.

Blaine laid a hand on Teddy’s shoulder. "It's fine Teddy. That in itself was amazing."

While Blaine was attempting to cheer the boy up, Kurt was practically bursting at the seams with excitement. "That was incredible!” He blurted. “How can you do that?"

Teddy shrugged. "It's genetic. My mother was a metamorphmagus too."

The use of past tense was not lost on Kurt. He struggled for a moment, knowing how difficult it was when others brought it up to him, but not wanting to come off nonplussed.

Naturally, Blaine was the one defuse the awkward tension, “Yeah, Teddy here can do lots of things with his abilities.

"What all can you do? Can you change your height? Your bone structure?"

After Kurt finished giving Teddy the third degree he proceeded to look him over very thoroughly, much to Teddy's dismay.

Blaine, mistaking Teddy's expression for being overwhelmed, laughed, "Slow down Kurt!"

At that point Wes joined them. "Look out Blaine,” He said with an uncharacteristic mischievous glint in his eye. “If you're not careful Kurt will be Teddy's new best friend."

"I don't mind." Teddy said earnestly.

Kurt took no time jumping into a conversation about Teddy's abilities. As a naturally very curious person who was in complete awe of the oddities of the wizarding world, Teddy's abilities stirred great interest in him. He hardly noticed the quidditch boys leave and they might have missed the match if not for Blaine.

"We'll continue this conversation in the common room." Kurt mumbled to Teddy, attempting to slip out of Blaine’s hearing. Of course, Blaine heard anyway, but when Kurt glanced at him he was conveniently busy staring at the ceiling.

Teddy nodded and laughed, then ran after his teammates.

As for the Kurt and Blaine, they took their time walking to the field. They strolled through the castle and Kurt caught Blaine covertly watching him several times. He didn't say anything until they had reached the grounds.

"What?" Kurt finally asked.

Blaine didn't even pretend to look sheepish about having been caught staring. "I must say I'm impressed. I think that's the most words I've ever seen anyone get out of Teddy in one sitting." Blaine admitting, looking truly impressed.

Kurt cocked his head. "What about you?"

"Besides me, of course.” Blaine said rolling his eyes and trying to look cool. The façade got him a grin and a halfhearted shove. Then Blaine was giving him that serious look of his that made Kurt swoon. “But seriously, did you not notice? Even the twins were staring."

Kurt tried not to appear smug and failed miserably. "I guess I just have that effect on people."

"That you do." Blaine pretended to sigh.

Kurt stood there laughing until Blaine gave him a warm smile and pulled him by the hand toward the entrance to the stadium.

The field was insanely crowded. It wasn't until then that Kurt was hit by the realization of how many students and teachers actually attended Hogwarts. The stands surrounding the field were overflowing – and it was no small field. He had thought that the McKinley football games drew a lot of attention, but it had nothing on this. Here one could barely hear their own thoughts.

Behind him, Blaine placed both hands on his waist and propelled him forward. Together, they plunged into the mass of people. For once, Kurt was grateful for Blaine’s ignorance of personal space. If his hands weren’t holding onto Kurt, he most likely would have gone astray before he could reach the stands, and this was no place to get lost in. Blaine pulled them through to the top corner, between the Gryffindor clad Ravenclaws and the real lions. It was a little less rowdy there but still loud enough it could have drowned out a small concert.

They stood there for a very long time and it felt like an eternity had passed before the real match began. Kurt watched in complete awe as the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor players kicked off on their brooms.

“Oh, hey. Jeff’s waving at us.” Blaine observed through his binoculars.

He passed them over to Kurt to see, but before he could even lift them to his face, Jeff had zoomed over with Nick in tow and they were hovering not far above them. With a wicked grin on their faces, the pair dive-bombed toward the stands and right through a strip of people, cutting two straight lines behind them. Apparently, this was no new trick of the two beaters’ and the people in the crowd ducked just in time not to get hit. Kurt and Blaine laughed merrily as their friends flew overhead. Blaine even managed to stick his hand up high enough to slap hands with Nick.

“Don’t sic the referee on us before the game’s even started! C’mon gentlemen, focus!” Watson shouted once his beaters had returned to the field.

Far off in the middle of the field the referee lifted her whistle up to her lips signaling the players to start. As she blew it, she tossed the quaffle high into the air. The game began.

Hufflepuff ended up being the first to score. Hall just managed to slip past David. Those in the crowd dawning Hufflepuff attire cheered screamed.

“And Hufflepuff makes the first score.” A sorrowful voice resounded through the stadium.

For the first time, Kurt noticed that Wes wasn’t in the stands with them. He around the stadium and his eyes landed on the commentator’s box.

“Hufflepuff’s keeper takes a bludger to the chest, OUCH! And with that distraction, Gryffindor’s chaser scores – Nice one, Watson – the scores have been evened out – A play by – OOOOH! Come one, Duvall shake it off.“

“Oh gosh,” Blaine murmured.

Kurt squinted in the direction Blaine had his binoculars pointed just in time to witness Nick slip off his broom. Nick was holding onto the thin wooden section by only one of his hands. He was just about to swing himself back up onto his broom when a bludger flew straight at him. The demonic ball slammed into him square in the jaw. The brief collision was enough to knock Nick out ad send him plummeting toward the ground. On the other side of the pitch Jeff had noticed and sped over, but he was just not fast enough. Fortunately for Nick he hadn’t been too high off the ground and had a sloping piece of tarp to soften the fall. He slid down it until her rolled onto the ground

The crowd looked on with baited breath as a Madam Pomfrey checked him over. She magically lifted his limp body onto a stretcher and took him to the edge of the field. There she gave him a more thorough inspection and tended to his wounds. Jeff quickly joined them. However, after a few minutes, Madam Pomfrey shooed Jeff back to his teammates. With the game back in action and Jeff up in the air, they could only assume Nick wasn’t in any mortal peril.

Kurt wiped the sweat off of his brow and let out a breath of relief. “Oh my dear god.”

Blaine snorted weakly. “Yeah, well. It isn’t a quidditch match until Nick’s been knocked off his broom.”

With danger out of the way for the day, Kurt managed to get back to watching the game and quickly became so enthralled that he nearly forgot about Nick. He almost felt guilty about doing so, but he was following Blaine’s lead and if he said Nick would be fine he would believe him.

“With no reserves, it appears that Gryffindor will have to continue on a beater down.” Wes said grimly. “No matter. Sterling ought to be a match for even two bludgers.”                                  

Right after Wes said that, one of the bludgers zoomed toward David. Jeff dived straight for it and whacked it before it could hit its target.

“Nice save by Gryffindor’s last remaining beater – and Hufflepuff takes the quaffle – they’re chaser Hall makes the shot and scores – ooh, but Liam Omsen comes up and gains possession – “

Suddenly the Gryffindor supporters roared. Although, it wasn’t because Liam nabbed the quaffle.

“Lupin has caught the snitch ladies and gentlemen! GRYFFINDOR WINS!” Wes screamed.

Kurt’s eyes bounced over to where the second year Gryffindor was floating and fist punching the air. He had completely forgotten about Teddy to be honest. When he told Blaine this, he assured him that it was pretty easy to until the end of the match. It made him feel a little better – that is, until he remembered that he had forgotten Nick as well.

Seemingly reading his thoughts, Blaine nudged him. "Let's go check on Nick!" He shouted, but his voice was so relatively quiet he might have whispered it.

By the time they made it to the field, Nick was already being levitated to the hospital wing with Jeff close at hand.

"Blaine!" Nick bellowed, looking slightly out of it. "We won!"

Blaine laughed and shook his head. "I know Nick! Congratulations!" He called back.

There was lots of hugging and high fives once they made it closer to the center. Kurt wasn’t sure exactly what Blaine was searching for until he was being pulled toward in the direction of a man standing off to the side of the celebrations.

"There Harry is!"

Kurt's eyes widened.

"Let's go!"

"Go where?" He asked dumbly.

"To say hello of course!"

Kurt rapidly shook his head. "No, no, no – Blaine!"

Blaine grinned. "It'll be fine!" Blaine's firm grip on his hand tightened and he basically dragged Kurt with him. In Blaine’s defense Kurt really didn’t fight too hard as he was in too much shock.

"Harry!" Blaine called. "Harry!"

To Kurt's surprise, Harry looked straight at them and grinned broadly.

"Alright, Blaine?" Harry didn't have to raise his voice much since most of the noise was yards away.

"I'm great! You?"

"Alright, Blaine? Congratulations on another Gryffindor victory!"

Blaine’s eyes were wide from all the excitement and he couldn’t help but bounce up and down on the balls of his feet. "Thanks. We were really worried there for a bit. Hufflepuff's new chaser is good."

"I'm sure the scouts will be looking into that one, but their beaters can't work together to save their seeker, as we all saw. I've never seen two beaters argue in the air that much." Harry Potter said baffled.

Kurt tried to retain his composer but it was slowly cracking. Unfortunately for him, Blaine wasn’t one to just let him stand silently in the background.

"I wanted you to meet someone. This is Kurt Hummel.” He introduced them. “He's transfer too."

Harry took Kurt’s free hand and he nearly fainted. "I'm, I'm Kurt," he said stupidly "it's n-nice to meet you!" He squeaked.

"Are you a Phoenix too?" Harry asked politely.

Blaine sensed Kurt’s newfound inability to speak and jumped in, "No, he's not. Not for long though if the boys have their way. They're all doing great, by the way.” Blaine chattered. “We're all pumped for competition. There's even a rumour that we get to compete against Beauxbaton!"

"Excellent. Make sure to mind the veelas." Harry said very seriously.

Blaine laughed. "I don't think that will be a problem, but I'll tell the others."

“You didn't tell me you were coming!" Teddy sprinted out of the crowd and knocked straight into Harry Potter.

"Sorry, Teddy. It was a surprise. . . Did you transform your eyebrows?"

Teddy nodded enthusiastically.

"Brilliant. I'll have to tell Andromeda, and Victiore will be excited too."

“We should probably be off then. It was good to see you.” Blaine said.

“Before you run off, I have to ask – nothing strange has been going on at the school recently, has it?"

Blaine looked thoughtful for a moment and then shook his head. "Nothing out of the ordinary. If it did you'd be the first to know. You know David would have a heart attack if anything like the last two years happened again. Why do you ask?"

"The Department of Magical Transportation has taken an interest in the increase in floo traffic this past month. As it turns out someone's been using the network to travel internationally."

"No. Haven’t heard anything about it at all." Blaine fibbed. “As I said, there’s celebrations to attend and all!”

"Where are we going?" Kurt asked as they strode away quickly.

Blaine grinned. "To the celebrations of course."

Before he could ask Blaine had an arm around his waist and was dragging him back toward the crowd. As they left the stadium they passed by a group of disappointed Hufflepuffs. Kurt honestly felt for them. If this was the high he was getting for winning, he couldn’t imagine how terrible losing would feel.

After all of the excitement of the day, Kurt was positive his voice would be shot tomorrow, yet he couldn't bring himself to regret it. The energy had been exhilarating! The greatest part of all was that the excitement never subsided and Kurt was high off of it. Kurt decided then and there that he very much liked quidditch. At least now he could appreciate why quidditch was the Wizarding world's favorite sport.

“C’mon, now you get to go to your first champion’s party.”

The corridors were strangely empty. It was understandable where the Gryffindors would be at this time, but he couldn’t even imagine why the rest of the houses barring Hufflepuff would be holed up. However, Kurt didn’t have much time to think about it because Blaine had opened the Fat Lady portrait to reveal a common room full of celebrating Gryffindors. Right in the centre Wes and David held up Watson on their shoulders.

Behind Kurt and Blaine a few seventh years crawled through carrying bags full of bottles.

"Firewhiskey!" They shouted.

"Don't drink any, stick to the butterbeer." Blaine warned him.

It didn't take Kurt long up find out why. The boys who did drink the Firewhiskey were obviously very drunk. They stumbled to the edge of the room and started dancing wildly to the music that blasted from the old wizard radio. Blaine stayed with him on the other side of the room away from the dancing. Any attempts at conversation were drowned out, so they sat drinking their butterbeer and watched their friends.

Wes threw duty to the wind and danced with his Ravenclaw girlfriend, whom he had helped sneak in. He wasn't drunk, but he wasn't entirely sober either. Nick, having been fixed up in a jiffy by Madame Pomfrey, now danced in the middle of it all with Jeff. He and Jeff were some of the few who hadn't actually had anything heavier than pumpkin juice. One of the twins was on the dance floor and the other was in the chair next to them laughing at his brother.

This went on for several hours. The party didn't even begin to die down until well past midnight. Some people crashed on the common room floor, the rest went to their dormitories.

"Are all post game parties that wild?" Kurt asked.

"Just the first game and the final match. They don't usually break out the alcohol unless we win the Quiddith Cup."

They parted ways at the top of the stairs and went to their separate dorms.

It took Kurt several hours afterwards to actually fall asleep since he was still reeling from the excitement of the day. The last thing that went through his mind before he drifted off, again, was that he was really going to like it there.


End file.
